By Melanie Nathan, Executive Director, African Human rights Coalition, October 10, 2024
African Human Rights Coalition is grateful to Ethel Kennedy for her human rights work in Africa and around the globe. Together with the Human Rights organization she founded, RFK Human Rights, we mourn her loss and celebrate her life and extraordinary work. We send condolences to her family and friends, and all at RFK Human Rights, and colleagues. May she rest in peace and may her memory be a blessing.
RFK Human Rights, has taken on cases for LGBTQI+ asylum seekers, leading in partnership with external pro bono law firms, and utilized the expert witness services of AHRC's director Melanie Nathan in such cases. We are so grateful for this work and how it has served LGBTQI+ asylum seekers. It has taken leaders like Ethel Kennedy to ensure such work, so important at times when African LGBTQI+ community is so viciously persecuted.
Statement from RFK Human Rights:
Celebrating Ethel Kennedy, Our Founder and Hero
April 11, 1928 – October 10, 2024
Throughout Ethel Kennedy’s marriage to Robert F. Kennedy, the couple shared a passion for politics and a commitment to social justice. As the founder of RFK Human Rights, she led the organization from its very inception and played a vital role in its growth and development for more than half a century.
After founding Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights months after her husband’s death in 1968, Ethel Kennedy became a political force in her own right, personally tackling human rights issues both at home and abroad.
Over her 96 years, she has been a champion for justice, standing with human rights defenders around the globe—from breaking bread with Cesar Chavez, to marching with the Immokalee farm workers, to advocating before a Kenyan dictator for justice for human rights activists.
Energized by the heroes she has supported and the many lives she has touched, she has been the catalyst, the motivation, and the greatest supporter for our work to carry forth Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy. From partnering with frontline advocates all over the world to speaking truth to power at every turn, Ethel inspired us every day.
Ethel lived a tremendously impactful life and was the cornerstone of RFK Human Rights until she passed away on October 10, 2024. May she rest in eternal peace.
Comments