In July 2023, Carter Center donors were invited to send messages of gratitude to human rights defenders, expressing appreciation for their courage and dedication. Over 1,275 supporters sent heartfelt notes of thanks and encouragement. Learn more »
“Human rights are the foundation of everything that The Carter Center does,” Susan Marx said. “This program is the moral voice reminding us why we’re doing all of this: It’s because of dignity. Everybody has the right to dignity.” Learn more »
Laetitia Muabila Bangu-Bangu wants to help women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo find their voices. Learn more »
Abeer Pamuk had just started her sophomore year at the University of Aleppo when the Syrian civil war erupted.
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Barbara Smith, vice president of the Carter Center’s peace programs, says she was born to her line of work. Her mother is from Germany and taught her the value of international perspectives. Her father was in the military and ingrained in her the importance of service. Learn more »
Fact checkers have a term for media sources that repeatedly share false or misleading content: misinformation repeat offenders. The Carter Center’s Digital Threats team studied the prevalence of misinformation repeat offenders in right- and left-leaning Facebook groups during the 2020 U.S. election cycle and published its findings in October in a report titled, "The Big Lie and Big Tech." Learn more »
Josh Griffin, a young consultant in the Carter Center’s Human Rights Program, participated in the 2020 March on Washington for racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Standing at the foot of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Griffin heard inspiring words from several speakers, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s son Martin III and 12-year-old granddaughter Yolanda Renee King. Learn more »
Two and a half years ago, recognizing that things that take place in the online world were increasingly having real-world consequences, The Carter Center launched the Digital Threats to Democracy Project.
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Josh Griffin, a graduate assistant with the Carter Center’s Human Rights Program, participated in the 2020 March on Washington for racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Standing at the foot of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Griffin heard inspiring words from several speakers, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s son Martin III and 12-year-old granddaughter Yolanda Renee King. Learn more »
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, young artists with ties to The Carter Center are giving their time and talent to create paintings and songs that encourage people in their communities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Even as governments across the globe rush to protect their citizens from the deadly effects of COVID-19, some are using the coronavirus as an excuse to violate human rights laws and expand their powers. Learn more »
Thirteen years ago, The Carter Center opened the Human Rights House in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is home to a small team of staffers who perform a large amount of work – providing training and assistance to more than 100 local civil society organizations working on issues related to human rights, supporting a protection network that helps keep human rights defenders safe, and overseeing a variety of projects designed to spark youth engagement in democracy and human rights.
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Human rights activists and scholars from 28 countries gathered at The Carter Center recently for the 12th Human Rights Defenders Forum. This year’s theme was “Building Solidarity toward Equality for All,” and topics included global protection for activists, challenges for women defenders and peacemakers, and the importance of mutually supporting civil, economic, political, and social rights. Defenders talked about their struggles and frustrations but also offered words of wisdom and hope. Learn more »
Laura Olson jumped at the chance to work at The Carter Center because of the opportunity to work directly with communities in other countries. “What spoke to me was that The Carter Center really listens to people. We are there to facilitate the changes they want to see and not to tell them what they should do. I also like that we help build local capacity so that communities can independently accomplish their goals.” Learn more »
In July, The Carter Center brought together nearly 70 activists, peacemakers, and religious and community leaders from 36 countries for the annual Human Rights Defenders Forum.
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If you missed the Carter Center's original webcast of "Harmonizing Religion and Human Rights," an archive version of the panel discussion can be watched below. Learn more »
Dec. 9 marks the 20th anniversary of the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, a document that The Carter Center helped craft that acknowledges the vital role played by frontline activists in the struggle for human freedom. We celebrate this anniversary by honoring the bravery of those who put their lives on the line so that all of us can live in freedom. Learn more »
Building a peaceful world involves more than ending war. A peaceful world is one in which justice thrives, everyone’s rights are respected, and people have access to essentials. The Carter Center has dozens of programs and projects dedicated to making the dream of peace a reality. This slide show explores a handful of them.
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Meet Penda Mbaye, program manager for Tostan in Senegal, where the international nonprofit works to empower women and girls and create positive social change. As an attendee of the Carter Center’s Human Rights Defenders Forum, Mbaye shared her expertise in human rights education and community outreach. Learn more »
In July 2018, The Carter Center brought together nearly 70 activists, peacemakers, and religious and community leaders from around the world for the Carter Center’s annual Human Rights Defenders Forum to discuss “Restoring Faith in Freedom.”
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In Kenya in the early years of this century, young men in Nairobi’s Mathare slum were dying one by one at the hands of police and security officers. Sometimes it happened out of sight in custody, sometimes in broad daylight in the street. Other youths simply disappeared, their fates never determined.
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Before the Taliban, before the war, before women were banned from positions of power, Najla Ayubi was a judge in Afghanistan. Extremists forced her out of her courtroom and eventually out of her country.
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Abeer Pamuk had just started her sophomore year at the University of Aleppo when the Syrian civil war erupted. She was studying English literature and dreaming of a career as a humanitarian worker in South Sudan. But when the Al-Nusra Front terrorist group occupied the street behind her house, her plans were derailed.
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Human rights defenders from around the world met at The Carter Center in May 2017 to teach, learn from, network with, and encourage one another under the theme Freedom from Fear: Securing Rights in Challenging Times. At the closing session of the forum, they issued a unified statement, excerpts of which accompany the following images.
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In 2016, The Carter Center convened dozens of human rights defenders from around the world to explore how to avoid violence while advocating for change. We asked several defenders to explain what human rights means to them.
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Jordan Ryan, vice president for peace programs, may be relatively new to The Carter Center, but his connection to President and Mrs. Carter dates back to the ’70s.
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At a recent TEDWomen 2015 conference, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke out against violence directed toward women and named abuse of women and girls as the number one human rights violation in the world. Learn more »
In poverty-stricken, mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo, The Carter Center advocates for mining reform and human rights.
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The Forum on Women, Religion, Violence & Power will connect activists across the globe, host roundtable video discussions among them and the general public, highlight success stories, and serve as a resource library and archive.
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"A Call to Action," a new book by President Carter available March 25 (Simon & Schuster), urges the end of discrimination and abuse against women, calling it the number one challenge in the world today.
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Top religious leaders, activists, and religious scholars representing more than 15 countries and over 35 faith-based organizations, universities, and religious bodies, who are committed to making concrete gains in women's rights gathered at The Carter Center June 27-29 for the conference "Mobilizing Faith for Women: Engaging the Power of Religion and Belief to Advance Human Rights and Dignity.".
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The Carter Center is working to enable Tshiamilemba and other local Congolese mining communities to seek redress for such human rights violations and to demand changes moving forward from both mining companies and government.
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In Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), thousands of children spend their days digging, breaking stones, and transporting and washing minerals, risking exposure to dangerous levels of radiation, potential pulmonary diseases, and physical and sexual abuse by peers and adults.
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During Egypt's January 2011 revolution, human rights researcher and blogger Fatma Emam demonstrated for change in Tahrir Square day after day with thousands of other men and women. Post-revolution though, she found women's rights left behind.
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Since President Carter's groundbreaking efforts in the White House to place human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, the goal of securing human rights for all — civil, political, social, and economic rights — has driven the Carter Center's work to advance peace and health in more than 70 nations. Learn more »
Since President Carter's groundbreaking efforts in the White House to place human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, the goal of securing human rights for all — civil, political, social, and economic rights — has driven the Carter Center's work to advance peace and health in more than 70 nations.
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In Congo, a lack of transparent and equitable management of natural resources has excluded most citizens from the benefits of the country’s vast mineral reserves. To address these inequalities, The Carter Center is working to advance economic justice by gathering and publishing information about the mining sector to be used by civil society to support reform in mining practice and policy.
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Ratna Osman, acting executive director of Malaysia’s Sisters in Islam, was one of a diverse group of 72 human rights activists and religious scholars from 22 countries to attend the Carter Center’s human rights defenders forum this week in Atlanta. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter urged religious communities to promote, not hinder, women’s rights during his opening remarks at the 2011 Human Rights Defenders Forum taking place at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga., April 3-6. The remarks were a follow up to a speech he gave to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2009. Learn more »
From April 3-6, human rights leaders and scholars will gather at The Carter Center to discuss the key challenges that women's rights activists face and ways to work with religious, traditional, and government institutions to advance the protection of these rights. Learn more »
Jimmy Carter has for years worked behind the scenes to secure the release of political prisoners. But this week he had to do it in person and in the public spotlight, traveling to North Korea to bring an American home.
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Olawale Fapohunda believes that the proposed African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) will enable African citizens to more fully participate in the electoral process and advance protection of human rights by African governments. And, in places like his home country of Nigeria, he feels the need for its ratification is vital. Learn more »
For 30 years, Henrietta Gayflor* endured ongoing physical abuse from her partner. After he assaulted her in her front yard one day, Gayflor decided to take action.
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KINSHASA....The initial vision for the Carter Center's Human Rights House was to provide both a space and forum for human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, building on the momentum of the 2006 elections.
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The initial vision for the Carter Center's Human Rights House was to provide both a space and forum for human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, building on the momentum of the 2006 elections. Learn more »
When she began work as a job counselor almost 10 years ago in Atlanta with refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Valerie Harden never imagined she would one day play a role in the restoration of their war-torn country.
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From the roof of his family's home in East Jerusalem within the walls of the Old City, Raed Sa'id points to the golden Dome of The Rock, which is glowing in the late-afternoon sun.
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Until recently, police officers in Kimbasneke, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), investigated case files at a music bar or other public space because they didn't have office space. When it rained, they carried the papers under their shirts to preserve the files.
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The Carter Center, since 2003, has warned of the dangers that autocratic leaders would take advantage of the “war on terror” to suppress legitimate political opposition and basic human rights. What General Musharraf has done is to try to wipe away the results of decades of effort by human rights and judicial leaders to restrain the powers of executive authority in Pakistan, which for half of the country’s history has been in the hands of the military. Learn more »
After Iraq's 2006 elections, the United States and other Western governments celebrated that country's move toward democracy. But as Karin Ryan knows from her 20 years with The Carter Center, an election is only a small step on the long road toward a true democratic government.
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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Honors Carter Center Trustee Sherry Lansing with Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award Learn more »
Marcel Wetsh'okonda fights for human rights laws to be passed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country where 1,000 people die each day from disease, hunger, and violence. It is no easy task.
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A new Human Rights Council for the United Nations was adopted March 15 by the U.N. General Assembly, replacing the Commission on Human Rights, originally established in 1946. In this Q&A, Karin Ryan, senior advisor, Human Rights Program, discusses the Center’s key role in the Council’s passage and what the Council means for global human rights. The new Council plans to elect its first 47 members May 9 and hold its first meeting June 19, after the Commission is disbanded June 16. Learn more »
