12-21-2011
By Human Rights First
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For over three decades, Human Rights First has partnered with frontline activists. We amplify their voices in policy debates and their firsthand knowledge informs our work.
As we move into 2012, Human Rights First would like to look back and honor some of the inspiring human rights activists who passed away in 2011. Their legacy and contributions will inspire new generations of human rights defenders.
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Galina Kozhevnikova
Founder and Director of the Sova Center for Information and Analysis in Moscow; leading expert on hate crime and nationalism in Russia.
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Laura Pollán
Prominent Cuban political opposition and human rights leader; Founder of Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White)—a dissident group demanding the release of political prisoners in Cuba.
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David Kato
Teacher and LGBT Rights activist. Kato is the most prominent casualty of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
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Noxolo Nogwaza
South African LGBT rights activist and organizer of the Ekurhuleni Pride Organising Committee.
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Shahbaz Bhatti and Salman Taseer
Punjab Governor Taseer & Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Bhatti worked to combat the misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
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Yelena Bonner
Andrei Sakharov’s widow was a human rights activist in her own right. Bonner helped establish the Moscow Helsinki Group.
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Sidney Lumet
The acclaimed director sought to inform, advocate, and inspire the movie-going public about human rights and pressing political and social issues of our time.
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Jerry Shestack
Served in USS Ticonderoga during World War II; championed civil rights in the United States and human rights at the U.N. He co-founded Human Rights First in 1978.
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Tags: blasphemy, blasphemy law, Cuba, David Kato, defamation of religions, Galina Kozhevnikova, Human Rights Defenders, Jerry Shestack, Laura Pollán, LGBT, LGBT issues, Noxolo Nogwaza, Russia, Salman Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Sidney Lumet, South Africa, Uganda, United Nations, Yelena Bonner
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