We collaborate with local, regional, and international partners to hold governments accountable, create lasting legal change, and foster an environment allowing individual and collective actors to speak out, participate in public affairs, organize, protest, and otherwise freely exercise and enjoy their human rights. Through strategic litigation and targeted advocacy, we foster collaboration and dialogue between civil society and key actors and promote cross-pollination of the most protective legal standards and innovative approaches to legal issues. Our partnership model builds on the work of local organizations on the ground by jointly strategizing and litigating cases, supporting their litigation through filing Amicus briefs, and working together to assess, advise, and build their technical capacity. From litigating landmark cases, such as the first case on lethal violence against journalists before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights or a case on the protection for peaceful assembly before the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights, to developing an innovative tool that maps key ongoing judicial cases worldwide, we are committed to protecting and defending civic space and democracy around the world.
114
Countries with serious civic space restrictions
88%
Rate of impunity for crimes of violence against journalists
44 of 180
U.S. ranking in World Press Freedom Index
Tags Share Washington, D.C., June 6, 2025 – Today, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (“RFK Human Rights”), submitted a detailed report to the Special Rapporteur, an independent expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, highlighting emerging trends and patterns in U.S. law enforcement’s use of lethal force. Submitted ahead of the 80th Session…
Tags Share “I feel it is the responsibility of all Americans to speak in defense of their principles, for the rights of others, and for the rule of law which protects us all.” Governor Janet Mills was honored with the 2025 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in Washington, D.C., recognized for her legal advocacy…
Tags Share Denver immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra was honored with a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, but was unable to accept it in person as she remains in ICE custody. Her daughters, Luna and Zury Vizguerra, accepted the award on her behalf during the ceremony, highlighting her ongoing fight for immigrant rights and justice. …
Tags Share ICE has quietly rescinded guidance that required its agents to respect state and local laws during courthouse raids, giving frontline officers more discretion to make arrests without legal review. Anthony Enriquez of RFK Human Rights calls this move “another attack” on protections for sensitive places like courthouses and schools. Recent high-profile arrests at…
Tags Share DHS Says it Won’t Eliminate Oversight Offices but is Still Pursuing Layoffs The Homeland Security Department is no longer planning on shuttering three oversight offices whose entire workforces were told in March that they were being laid off. Officials are still going through with reductions in force, however, leading to continued questions from…
Tags Share Washington, D.C., May 28, 2025 – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today published a new guide that outlines best practices for engaging with the United States government on arbitrary and wrongful detention cases. The guide was created as a practical resource for family members of individuals who are arbitrarily detained overseas. It is…
Tags Share Addressing arbitrary and wrongful detention through advocacy and litigation is an area of extensive expertise and experience for RFK Human Rights. In the last decade, we have worked with families of arbitrarily and wrongfully detained individuals, including US persons, to facilitate their release and return home. A central reflection from our engagements with…
Tags Share NEW YORK, MAY 22, 2025 – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today announced the winners of its 2025 RFK Book and Journalism Awards during a virtual ceremony featuring remarks by Kerry Kennedy, Soledad O’Brien, and Margaret “Peggy” Engel. Award winners were honored for their work documenting pressing social issues and human rights abuses.…
Tags Share We strongly condemn the Cameroonian government’s ban on the activities of and sustained attacks against the Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa (REDHAC, by its French acronym), led by RFK Human Rights Award Laureate Maximillienne Ngo Mbe. We call on the government to lift the ban, unseal REDHAC’s offices, and desist…
Tags Share The Denver Post reports that Jeanette Vizguerra, a longtime Colorado immigration advocate currently held in ICE detention, has been named one of three recipients of the 42nd annual Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Honored alongside Maine Gov. Janet Mills and former DOJ pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer, Vizguerra was recognized for her grassroots…
Tags Share Maine Gov. Janet Mills to Receive Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Maine Gov. Janet Mills will receive an award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. RFK Human Rights announced Thursday that Mills is one of three recipients of its 42nd annual Human Rights Award. The other two are Elizabeth Oyer, a former…
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