While traveling on a human rights delegation last year, I was detained at an illegal checkpoint by soldiers with automatic weapons. Despite proof that we were part of an international human rights organization, the commanding officer raged, "I am the authority here. I have the power."
Road blocks like these are where frontline human rights defenders disappear, where friends and family are lost, and where accountability is rare. This kind of brutality and impunity is common wherever autocrats believe that no one will take notice or rally to oppose them.
WITH A 2014 MEMBERSHIP IN THE RFK CENTER,
YOU CAN HELP US PROVE THEM WRONG.
YOU CAN HELP US PROVE THEM WRONG.
Join the RFK Center with a 2014 membership and we will stand together with frontline defenders to:
- ...OPPOSE STATELESSNESS. The RFK Center is fighting discriminatory policies in the Dominican Republic. Thanks to our supporters, we've obtained protective measures for dozens of families, preventing their wrongful exile and ensuring their access to education, health services, and other economic, social, and cultural rights.
- ...ADVANCE LGBTI EQUALITY. Last year, our efforts emancipated two LGBTI activists from prison in Ugandan and brokered the first-ever meetings between LGBTI activists and high-ranking Ugandan officials. In the coming year, we will continue to work with local civil society to protect the rights of LGBTI Ugandans.
- ...FIGHT FOR INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE. The RFK Center and its partners in Mexico are nearing completion on three schools in rural communities, which will help children whose right to education is being denied.
- ...SECURE FAIR LABOR PRACTICES. The RFK Center is building a coalition and advocating before government authorities to bring an end to the shocking labor conditions that allow industrial farms to exploit New York farmworkers. These workers are exempt from the basic workplace protections guaranteed to almost every other class of American worker.
- ...PROTECT THE VULNERABLE. Our 2013 RFK Human Rights Award Laureate is Ms. Ragia Omran, a dedicated defender of human rights who is often the first to arrive on the scene at jails, police stations, and court houses. In the coming year the RFK Center will partner with Ragia to protect the rights of women and the right to peaceful assembly.
Please join with us--your 2014 membership gift will support those who are denied their rights and the courageous heroes who fight for them everyday. Together we will empower those struggling for a more just and peaceful world.
With our deepest thanks,
Kerry Kennedy
President
Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights
Photo credit: Amal El Mohande
