Kerry Kennedy Activist and writer, seventh of eleven children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy Date of Birth: 08.09.1959 Country: USA

1. Biography of Kerry Kennedy
2. Human Rights Activism
3. The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights
4. Other Activism and Recognitions

Biography of Kerry Kennedy

Maria Kerry Kennedy, an American activist and writer, was born on September 8, 1959, in Washington, D.C. She is the seventh of eleven children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. Kerry received her higher education at Brown University, having previously graduated from Boston College, where she studied law. She has three children: Cara Ethel, Mariah Matilda, and Michael Andre.

Human Rights Activism

Since 1981, Kerry Kennedy has been an activist fighting for human rights. She began her work by investigating the violations committed by U.S. immigration authorities against refugees from El Salvador. Later, she became the leader of delegations to Gaza, Haiti, Kenya, Northern Ireland, and South Korea. She has also worked in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Sudan, and Pakistan. Since then, Kennedy has dedicated her life to protecting equality, preserving fundamental human rights, and supporting the rule of law. Her activism focuses on various human rights issues, including children's rights, child labor, land rights of indigenous peoples, judicial independence, freedom of expression, ethnic violence, and impunity. Kennedy is particularly concerned about self-defense killings, sexual slavery, domestic violence, workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, and cruel treatment of prisoners.

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights

In 1988, Kerry Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights and served as its executive director until 1995. Under her leadership, the center implemented three programs aimed at preserving equality and monitoring violations of human rights, including a national juvenile justice project that helped municipalities create more effective and cost-efficient programs for rehabilitating juvenile offenders. The RFK Center for Human Rights is codified in accordance with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and provides support to leading human rights defenders worldwide. The center's work exposes violations such as torture, enforced disappearances, infringements on freedom of speech, and child labor.

Other Activism and Recognitions

Kerry Kennedy is also the Chair of the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council. She has been appointed as a member of the United States Institute of Peace by President George W. Bush and the U.S. Senate. She is also affiliated with Inter-Press Service. Kennedy serves as a patron of the Bloody Sunday Trust in Northern Ireland and is a member of the editorial advisory board of the Buffalo Human Rights Law Review. Additionally, she is part of the advisory committee of the International Campaign for Tibet, the Committee on the Administration of Justice in Northern Ireland, the Global Youth Movement for Education without Borders, and several other organizations.

Kennedy frequently appears on television, with her speeches transmitted on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, and other networks worldwide. Her commentary and articles have been published in renowned publications such as The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Marie Claire, and Yale Journal of International Law. As a special correspondent for the environmental television program "Network Earth," Kerry has delivered speeches on human rights and environmental protection. She often participates in discussions with human rights leaders on thematic radio programs of Voice of America.

Kerry Kennedy is a bestselling author, with her book "Being Catholic Now, Prominent Americans talk about Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning" reaching a worldwide audience. The book features essays by prominent Catholics, including Susan Sarandon, Nancy Pelosi, Cokie Roberts, Cardinal McCarrick, Sister Joan Chittister, Tom Monaghan, Bill O'Reilly, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Doug Brinkley, and many others.

Kennedy's contributions to the world have been recognized through various high honors and awards. She has received an award from Polish President Lech Walesa for her support of the Solidarity movement. At the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, she was awarded a prize for her involvement in the abolition of the death penalty. The American Jewish Congress and Emerald Isle Immigration Center have thrice awarded her for her outstanding contributions and achievements in the field of human rights. In 2001, Kerry was named "Woman of the Year" in the Save the Children program. She received the South Asian Award in 2003 and the Eleanor Roosevelt Award, Thomas More Award from Boston College Law School, and other accolades in 2008.

Currently, Kerry Kennedy travels the world, delivering speeches and lectures, urging her audiences to stand up against human rights violations.