ANNUAL REPORT EXPOSE INJUSTICE. 2015 TEACH CHANGE. RIGHT WRONG. HEAL PAIN. JOIN US. NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, Robert Kennedy’s family and friends dedicated themselves to carrying on his unfinished work of standing with those who fight against oppression. Today, we are students and activists, lawyers and business leaders, teachers and advocates, all working towards a common goal: achieving Bobby’s dream of a more just and peaceful world. DEAR FRIENDS, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights continued my father’s OUR WORK OUR IMPACT unfinished labors for a more just and peaceful world through a multiplicity of worldwide endeavors in 2015. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights takes ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION a holistic approach to creating change: OUR ADVOCATES HAVE PARTNERED WITH OVER Our advocacy and litigation unit battled discrimination KERRY KENNEDY courageous countries around President against Dominicans of Haitian descent, scored landmark HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION defenders in the world victories for victims of femicide in Guatemala, freed We train and educate current and future human rights defenders to build capacity from the ground up and prevent abuses before THROUGH 12 ANNUAL CAPACITY BUILDING TRAININGS, prisoners of conscience in Swaziland and raised they occur. OUR EXPERTS REACH awareness about human rights in the United States. ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION human rights government Our human rights education curriculum, reaching 3.2 Through our advocacy and litigation efforts, we create lasting defenders and advocacy million students worldwide, was launched in Canada, change; harnessing the power of social movements and organizations bringing the arm of the law to the defense of the vulnerable. Guadeloupe, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway and Portugal—with teacher trainings reaching BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS We engage the investment community in discussions focused on BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS many educators. At two annual sustainable investing human rights and other environmental, societal and governance WE PARTNERED WITH MORE THAN summits we partnered with more than 120 business factors; ensuring their investments in businesses around the globe not only do well, but are also a force for good. business leaders controlling $5-7 trillion in assets leaders controlling assets of $5 to $7 trillion to embrace to consider human rights in their investment LEGACY decisions human rights in their investment decisions. Our Young We inspire new generations to take action and create change Leaders network reached over 1,500 members in New by amplifying and celebrating activists, authors, journalists, and students whose work reflects Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy, HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION York and Washington, D.C. including human rights, social justice and the power of individual action in the United States and around the world. OUR HUMAN RIGHTS countries We persisted with these and many other global efforts to EDUCATION PROGRAM and YOUNG LEADERS HAS REACHED embrace those who carry forward the legacy of Robert MILLION We mobilize the next generation to champion human rights in students worldwide Kennedy of which you can be justly proud. their communities. Warmly, EDUCATORS WERE REACHED through trainings in the U.S. alone
YOUNG LEADERS YOUNG LEADERS COUNTS
members in NYC and a new chapter in Washington, D.C.
2 | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ANNUAL REPORT | 3 BE PART OF THE SOLUTION OUR YEAR IN REVIEW
ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION In 2015, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Fought arbitrary deprivation of nationality from Dominicans of Haitian descent in the freed prisoners of conscience in Swaziland Dominican Republic: • Through our work and persistent pressure, we were able to get the Dominican Republic government to commit to not engage in and partnered with activists from Chicago massive deportations and put stateless people back on a path to citizenship. to Moscow to combat police brutality. Our • We helped secure the release of $2 million in emergency UN funding after having engaged in a fact-finding mission to the Dominican Republic along the border with Haiti. Strategic Litigation Unit won landmark Won landmark case for victims of Training Institute femicide in Guatemala: cases, protecting women in Guatemala • Organized 12 activities and 5 side events. • In December, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights • 177 human rights defenders and government agents trained. issued a landmark ruling in a case we brought regarding the • 87 organizations and government agencies involved. disappearance and murder of 19-year old Claudina Isabel from being murdered with impunity, and Velásquez Pais in 2005. • Representing 66 countries. • The Court ordered Guatemala to adopt a series of measures communities in the Dominican Republic that will address structural discrimination and violence against women in the country. and The Bahamas from illegal deportation Fought discriminatory immigration policies in and expulsion from their homelands. The Bahamas: • We obtained protective measures for 200 people held in a migration detention center. Our business and human rights program • We led a fact-finding mission to assess the impact of the immigration policies, particularly on Haitians and persons of worked with the Department of Labor Haitian Descent. • We participated in the first ever Thematic Hearing about human rights in The Bahamas before the Inter-American Commission on to release new guidance for investors Human Rights. Raised Attention on the Human Rights Situation considering the social impact of their in the United States: Freed Prisoners of Conscience in Africa’s last • We organized hearings on Child Victims of Trafficking and absolute monarchy: Sexual Exploitation, and on Police Killings. • Journalist Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani investments. We launched our human Maseko – imprisoned for criticizing the judiciary in Swaziland – were released in June after the government bowed to the rights education curriculum in Canada, international pressure of our #SwaziJustice campaign. France, Guadeloupe, Switzerland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, expanding its “I’m certain that the training and the whole reach to 16 countries and more than 3.2 experience will help me take my organization’s work to a higher level of international advocacy” million students worldwide. TRAINING INSTITUTE PARTICIPANT FROM MEXICO
4 | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ANNUAL REPORT | 5 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW “Because of the work of Young Leaders, there HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION is hope in the Hudson Valley” Our human rights education curriculum launched in: –ROLFI OLVIRO, PASTOR AND FORMER FARMWORKER • Canada, Guadeloupe, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. We held trainings internationally in: • Cambodia, Italy, Rwanda, and Sweden. JUVENILE JUSTICE YOUNG LEADERS Over the past year, Congress has engaged in a serious debate Within the United States we held trainings in: about how to reform the federal criminal justice system. As a down • Austin, Indianapolis, Long Island, Los Angeles, Memphis, payment on this reform, a bipartisan group of 11 senators, including Oneonta, Philadelphia, San Francisco, University of Connecticut Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking (Storrs), and Tulsa. Member Leahy (D-VT), introduced “The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.” As a result of work by the bill cosponsors, Senators Speak Truth To Power Video Contest Winners: Booker (D-NJ) and Durbin (D-IL), this landmark legislation includes • Julio Villegas and Christopher Rodriguez BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS three provisions that would assist young people incarcerated in RFKennedy Compass Hyannis Port, M.A. Conference: the federal system. All of these reforms have been supported by Speak Up, Sing Out Music Contest Winner: the Juvenile Justice Collaborative, which also worked with Senator • Jade Rhodes • 6th Annual Hyannis Port Conference Booker to improve the specific provision on juvenile records sealing. • Over 180 attendees The three juvenile justice reforms proposed by the bill include: Theatre Program: • Keynote Speakers included: Honorable Barney Frank (M.A.), • We piloted a week-long theatre camp in New York, that merges David Bonderman, Founding Partner, TPG Capital, Renee James, Sealing and expungement of non-violent federal human rights education with social justice theatre to address the President, Intel Corporation, N. Gregory Mankiw, Chairman and juvenile records: Launching the RFKYL Speaker Series realities of oppression and create tools for liberation. Professor of Economics, Harvard University This provision would allow individuals to seek sealing and • Young Leaders educated hundreds of young New Yorkers about RFKennedy Compass Washington, D.C. Conference: expungement of non-violent federal juvenile records upon petition to today’s most pressing human rights issues through a bi-monthly the court. The Collaborative and its partners successfully worked with • 4th Annual East Coast Conference speaker series highlighting the work of local young activists. Senator Booker’s staff to support and improve this provision of the bill. • Over 120 attendees Supporting New York Farmworkers • Keynote Speakers included: Senator Cory Booker (NJ), Senator Judicial review of juvenile sentences: • Delivered 200 pounds of winter clothes. Orrin Hatch (UT), Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason This provision would allow inmates in the federal system who were • Delivered boxes of toys for the holidays and helped serve a Furman, National Economic Council Director Jeffrey Zients, sentenced as juveniles to seek a sentence modification via judicial holiday meal. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, and David Rubenstein, Co- review after serving at least twenty years of their sentence. CEO and Founder, The Carlyle Group • Organized volunteers to teach ESL classes. Prohibition on the use of solitary confinement: Feeding the New York homeless This provision would prohibit solitary confinement, as required • Prepared and delivered over 2,000 lunches to NYC homeless. by Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) standards, for Growing! young people held in federal juvenile facilities. This provision, pulled • Our community grew by 185% and is now 1,500 strong. from Senator Booker’s standalone bill, “MERCY Act,” arose in part from a meeting in April 2015 that the Collaborative set up between Senator Booker’s staff and justice-impacted youth affiliated with the “I learned a ton more about the great work Juvenile Law Center. During this meeting, one of the young people spoke powerfully and emotionally about the negative physical and psychological impact that solitary confinement had had on her, and you are doing at Robert F. Kennedy Human then later educated Senator Booker directly about her experience. The Collaborative will push for passage of this Senate legislation, as Rights. It was both eye-opening and humbling. well as inclusion of the youth provisions in House legislation that are under development. Despite the relatively small number of youth in the federal justice system, it is critical to include juvenile justice Awesome conference!” reform provisions in this important federal justice system reform bill –COMPASS CONFERENCE ATTENDEE as a way to recognize the pressing need for youth justice reform.
6 | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ANNUAL REPORT | 7 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW OUR DONORS
W. Dean Smith Janet Cowell, Treasurer, State of North Carolina BOARD MEMBERS Barbara Smith Thomas P. DiNapoli, Comptroller, Jean Kennedy Smith State of New York “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, Founder David Stein Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator, State of New York Robert F. Smith, Chair Elizabeth Stevens Jose Ramos Horta, Winner, Nobel Prize for Peace Terry Mazany, Co-Vice Chair George Stevens, Jr. and former President, Timor L’Este Robert Wolf, Co-Vice Chair Franklin Thomas Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director, and belief that human history is shaped.” Treasurer and Secretary Anthony Williams, Dorothy Tubridy Lazard Harry Belafonte William vanden Heuvel Caroline Kennedy, Ambassador to Japan Alan H. Buerger –ROBERT F. KENNEDY Adam Walinsky Denise L. Nappier, Treasurer, State of Connecticut Larry Cox David Wang Gina Raimondo, Governor, Tim Cook James W. Whittaker State of Rhode Island Peter Edelman Andrew Young Amartya Sen, Winner, Nobel Prize in Economics Mark E. Freitas Anne Simpson, Senior Portfolio Manager and • CARTOON: “Darrin Bell 2014 Editorial Cartoons,” Darrin Bell, Jonah Goodhart Director of Corporate Governance, CalPERS Claudio Grossman The Washington Post Writers Group Desmond M. Tutu, Former Archbishop Richard Iannuzzi YOUNG LEADERS BOARD of Cape Town • NEW MEDIA: “Firestone and the Warlord,” T. Christian Miller and Philip W. Johnston Ian Manheimer Ash Williams, Executive Director and CIO, Florida Jonathan Jones, ProPublica and PBS Frontline Kerry Kennedy Ben Erwin State Board of Administration The Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy, III Frances Simpson Allen James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman and CEO, • RADIO: “Boxed In: When the Punishment No Longer Fits the Matthew Kennedy Ayme Sinclair Wolfensohn and Company Crime,” Carrie Johnson, Marisa Peñalosa, and Beth Donovan, Marialina Marcucci Billie Gibson NPR News Elisa Massimino Lindsay McNeil VISIONARIES Niclas Kjellström-Matseke • DOMESTIC PHOTOGRAPHY: “California’s Dust Bowl,” Michael Becca Denenberg Kerry Kennedy, President, Robert F. Kennedy James J. Pinto Brandon Clark Human Rights Robinson Chavez, The Los Angeles Times Michael Posner Carolina Velasquez Robert F. Smith, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity • INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: “Ebola: A Desperate Struggle,” Terry Mazany Josh Thompson Partners John Rogers Michel duCille, The Washington Post Cassandra Simpson Diane Spilker Marvin S. Rosen Emily Santos Vardis and Marianna Vardinoyannis • DOMESTIC PRINT: “Cruel and Unusual,” Julie K. Brown, Malika Saada Saar Erik Coler Miami Herald Dr. Jeffrey Sachs Maggie Dunne CHAMPIONS Henry S. Schleiff Fatima Anwar Mark Freitas, President and Chief Executive • INTERNATIONAL PRINT WINNER: “Product of Mexico,” Richard Martin Sheen Jae Spivey Officer, Mark Edward Partners and Mary Marosi and Don Bartletti, The Los Angeles Times Luz Vega-Marquis Jordan Joseph Freitas Paul van Zyl • DOMESTIC TELEVISION: “Solitary Nation,” Daniel Edge, PBS Justin Lam Anne Finucane, Global Strategy and Investment Officer, Bank of America Frontline and WGBH Julia Melim LEGACY Lynn Delaney, Ex Officio Member of the Board Kate Kennedy Marvin S. Rosen, Greenberg Traurig LLP • INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION: “Qatar’s World Cup,” Jeremy of Directors and Executive Committee Marika Shiga Lily Safra, Chair, The Edmond J. Safra Robert F. Kennedy Book and Journalism Awards: Schaap, Beein Gim, Andy Tennant, Michael Baltierra, and Tim Michael Hardaway Philanthropic Foundation Horgan, ESPN E:60 Olivia Heil Philip W. Johnston, President and Founder, Book Award Winner: TRUSTEES Tiffany Barros Erwin Johnston Associates The Crusades of Cesar Chavez by Miriam Pawel Tyler Davis Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Recipient: John Baldwin Roosevelt Donat GROUNDBREAKERS William G. Barry Journalism Award Winners: Natalia Taubina, Russia Mary Elizabeth Elkordy Wendy and Jim Abrams Hodding Carter III Jaqueline Vicino Roger C. Altman, Chairman, Evercore Partners • HIGH SCHOOL BROADCAST: “Our Cameras, Our Stories,” John Robert Coles Richard O'Reilly Anonymous Alpert and Team, Downtown Community Television Center, Ripple of Hope Award Recipients: Greg Craig Katie James Liz and Eric Lefkofsky New York • Roger Altman Gerald Cummins Julia Melim Catherine Lu John W. Douglas Andrea Luxenberg Vincent Mai • HIGH SCHOOL PRINT: “Eyes on Ferguson,” Gwyneth Henke, The • Marianna Vardinoyannis Katherine W. Evans Nkem Osian Paolo Marcucci, CEO, Kedrion Globe, Clayton High School, Clayton, MO • Tim Cook Lee Fentress Letizia Moratti, Former Mayor of Milan Michael Fuchs Howard L. Nations, President, • COLLEGE: “Wrongful Convictions,” Alec Klein and Team, Medill • The Honorable John Lewis Dan Glickman Justice Project, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL Law Offices of Howard L. Nations Danny Glover LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Howard Rubin, Founder, Rubin Systems Inc./ Doris Kearns Goodwin CHAIR Rubin Worldwide Richard Goodwin Marc Spilker Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO, Pirelli Timothy Hagan Ethel Kennedy, Founder, Susan N. Wilson Thomas M. C. Johnston Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Maureen White and Steve Rattner Vernon Jordan Robert Wolf, CEO, 32 Advisors, LLC John R. Lewis FOUNDERS Frederic H. Mayerson Oscar Arias, Winner, Nobel Prize for Peace and ACTIVISTS Herbert Miller, Jr. former President, Costa Rica Anonymous John E. Nolan, Jr. William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President, United Joe Armstrong John Reilly States of America Adam Aron Dean W. Rudoy Gerald Alain P. Chen Young, Judy Benardete Benno C. Schmidt Vice President and CIO, UNCF, Inc. Afsaneh Beschloss, President and CEO, 8 | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ANNUAL REPORT | 9 The Rock Creek Group Guggenheim Partners Cheryl Hines Daniele Bodini, Ambassador, Brooke S. Parish Samuel L. Jackson United Nations for San Marino Mahsa and Jay Pelosky Scarlett Johansson OUR STAFF Mark and Monique Boling John W. Rogers, Jr., Chair, CEO and CIO, Quincy Jones John Boyer, Ph.D., Chairman, Ariel Investments Catherine Keener Maximus Foundation David M. Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Richard Kind MANAGEMENT & PARTNERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS RFK ITALY Tonio Burgos, CEO, Tonio Burgos and Associates Managing Director, The Carlyle Group Eva Longoria ADMINISTRATION Colleen M. Casey, Managing Director, Jeffrey A. Sachs, D.D.S., President, Chad Lowe Santiago Canton, Executive Director, Partners for Frank LaRue, Director, RFK Human Rights - Angelo Gordon & Co. Sachs Associates Inc. Kate Mulgrew Kerry Kennedy, President Human Rights Europe Michael Chu, Managing Director, Henry Schleiff, President and GM, Diane Neal Michael Schreiber, Chief Operating Officer Angelita Baeyens, Executive Director, Partners for Catterton Partners Investigation Discovery Mandy Patinkin Brendan Nguyen, Business Management Analyst Human Rights Susan Crown and William Kunkler, III Karen D. Seitz, Managing Director, Vanessa Redgrave Lynn Delaney, Senior Adviser & Executive Brian Hanafin, Program Associate TEMPS Director, RFK Legacy, Awards, & Jeffrey Smith, Africa Program Officer Sophie Elliot Fusion Partners Gloria Reuben Diane Labadie (Fin/Dev/Legacy) Joseph S. Fichera, CEO, Saber Partners Dewey Shay Susan Sarandon Special Projects David McKean, Asia Program Officer Alan and Dafna Fleischmann James and Monica Shay Martin Sheen Joseph Kotwicki, Interim Director of Finance Lydia Allen, Program Officer for the Americas Richard E. Farley, Partner, Paul Hastings Cal Shook Stanley Tucci (Consultant) Hannah Wheelwright, Program Assistant & Brian Gold and family, President and CEO, Elizabeth Smith, AllianceBernstein Debra Winger Brigette Vannall Wallace, Accountant Human Rights Awards Coordinator CONSULTANTS Sultana Distribution Services David Solow and Brooke Hillman Alfre Woodard Ismael Cervantes, Database/Operations Wade McMullen, Managing Attorney Andrea Galindo, Director, RFK Training Institute Jonah Goodhart, WGI Group Richard Sternhell Administrator Christina Fetterhoff, Donald M. Wilson Fellow Maria Amparo Barrera Capellano, Program Albert Gore III, Strategic Capital Partners, LLC Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Former Lieutenant Nelson Lewis, Executive Assistant to the Mai El Sadany, Donald M. Wilson Fellow Officer, RFK Training Institute Robert C. Gottlieb, Law Offices of Governor, State of Maryland President Daniel Aum, Donald M. Wilson Fellow Mary McCoy, STTP West Coast Program Gottlieb & Gordon Donato Tramuto, CEO and Vice Chairman, FOUNDATION DONATIONS Ricarda Velez-Negron, NY Office Manager Rahma Hussein, Legal Fellow Coordinator Jane D. Hartley, Observatory Group and Physicians Interactive Holdings Charity Partners Foundation Daniel Cronin, Senior Manager of Marketing & Caitlin Kelly, Legal Fellow Beverly Meyer, STTP Curriculum - West Coast Ralph Schlosstein, President and CEO, Evercore Anthony Williams, McKenna Long & Connors Foundation Communications Sandeep Prasanna, Legal Fellow Educational Coordinator Partners Aldridge LLP The Elkhart Education Foundation Laura Marcucci, Marketing & Chloe Rabiet, Legal Fellow TaylorMade, Event Coordinator Andrew and Shannon Hayden ARTISTS FRITT Ord Foundation Communications Officer Srinjoy Sakar, Legal Fellow Karen Sklaire, STTP Theater Camp Coordinator/ The Heidegger Family Alec and Hilaria Baldwin Fund II Foundation Wendi Huestis, Chief Development, Katherine Valencia, Legal Fellow Lead Teacher Coppy Holzman, Founder, CharityBuzz Javier Bardem Grammy Museum Foundation Communications & Marketing Officer Brittany West, Legal Fellow Jennifer Collier, Juvenile Justice Collaborative Rafi Jafri Natasha Bedingfield The Lindley Foundation Suzanne M. Lutz, Associate Director of Anne-Claire Wilhite Olivera, Legal Fellow Project Director Jon Ledecky, Ironbound Partners Harry Belafonte Marguerite Casey Foundation Development Valentina Pagliai, Human Rights Education & Fay and Daniel Levin Michael Bolton Mobile Giving Foundation Mary-Elaine Jenkins, Development Associate Training Manager, Italy Valter Mainetti, CEO, Sorgente Sgr Spa Lorraine Bracco Moore Charitable Foundation Caroline Mills, Development Associate SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER Fiammetta Chiarini, Human Rights Education & Terry and Lottie Mazany Timothy Daly Snap Foundation Kevin L. Golden, Jr., Development Associate Development, Italy John Heffernan, Executive Director, Speak Truth Raymond J. McGuire, Co-Head of Global Rocky Dawuni Strauss Foundation Kajsa Wiktorin, Project Manager, STTP Sweden To Power Investment Banking, Citigroup Peter Gallagher Swedish Postcode Foundation Katja Wahlstrom, Project Manager, STTP Sweden Karen Robinson, Speak Truth To Power Human Dennis Mehiel, Chair and CEO, Four M Melanie Griffith TIDES Foundation Danila Paladino, Administrative & Financial COMPASS Rights Education & Training Manager Investments Charles Grodin Tramuto Foundation Director Rita Gail Johnson, Director, RFK Jennifer Girardi, Program Coordinator, Speak Scott Minerd, Global Chief Investment Officer, Dennis Haysbert Waterston Family Foundation Compass Program Truth To Power The Whittier Trust Company Sierra Ewert, Manager, RFK Young Leaders Yanique Rae, Office Administrator/Program Assistant
<1% REVENUE 2%
FINANCIALS CORPORATIONS FOUNDATIONS 36% “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or INDIVIDUAL DONORS OTHER/NGO 29% GROWTH 13,000,000 GOVERNMENT acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out HISTORICAL 12,000,000 11,000,000 REVENUES, 33% EXPENSES, 10,000,000 against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of AND ASSETS 9,000,000 8,000,000 CORPORATIONS hope, and crossing each other from a million 7,000,000 REVENUES FOUNDATIONS 6,000,000 EXPENSES INDIVIDUAL DONORS 5,000,000 SPENDING OTHER/NGO different centers of energy and daring those NET ASSETS 4,000,000 PROGRAMMATIC GOVERNMENT 25% 3,000,000 NON-PROGRAMMATIC 2,000,000 REVENUES ripples build a current which can sweep down 1,000,000 EXPENSES
0 NET ASSETS 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” 75%
–ROBERT F. KENNEDY 10 | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ANNUAL REPORT | 11 “Those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.”
–ROBERT F. KENNEDY
@KerryKennedyRFK Kerry Kennedy, RFKHumanRights.org @RFKHumanRights Robert F. Kennedy, RFKennedyEurope.org Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights 2015 ANNUAL REPORT | 12