Why Amal and George Clooney founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice and the Albie Awards’ inaugural list of awardees including Maria Ressa.
In an Instagram post the Clooney Foundation for Justice writes, “Our story starts with a single line: ‘Peace, like war, must be waged. It doesn’t just happen.'”
The website states: “All over the world, journalists and defenders of democracy are detained, prosecuted and jailed. Women and girls, LGBTQ+ people and minorities are subject to unfair laws and targeted for abuse. Meanwhile, the perpetrators walk free. George and Amal Clooney created the Clooney Foundation for Justice to combat this: by waging justice, one case at a time.”
Their initiatives include Trialwatch, The Docket, and Waging Justice for Women. TrialWatch is “the first initiative in the world that monitors criminal trials globally and defends the rights of individuals who are unfairly imprisoned.” The website adds, “We are active in more than 40 countries and focus on trials against those who are most vulnerable to abusive legal systems – journalists, women, democracy-defenders, LGBTQ+ people, and minorities.”
The Docket was created to “help make justice for survivors of mass atrocities a reality. Despite mass atrocities being more visible than ever – perpetrators still go unpunished. The traditional tools of “naming and shaming” are no longer enough as increasingly those who commit these crimes are without shame. The Docket team gathers evidence to trigger prosecutions and civil actions against those involved in international crimes and represents victims in their pursuit of justice.”
The Waging Justice for Women initiative “aims to fight injustice against women through strategic litigation to reform discriminatory laws and increase accountability for gender-based abuse. Until now, there has been no global program to identify laws and policies that are holding women back and to support women’s ability to claim their rights through the courts. As a result, women are neither asked about the injustices they face nor given the opportunity to design and implement the solutions. Our Waging Justice for Women initiative aims to change this.” According to the foundation’s website, “Using data that we gather, and working hand in hand with women-led local organizations, our team will use legal avenues to overturn unfair laws, help victims get redress, and bring perpetrators to justice. We will also establish women-for-women legal aid clinics to provide free legal support for women, secure legal remedies and bring about systemic change.”
Furthermore, the website writes: “The initiative will be led by Amal Clooney, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other specialist organizations. The project will, for the first time, gather much-needed data about laws and practices that are holding women back, and use this to identify legal advocacy opportunities to overcome them. We will fight for equal rights for women, one case at a time.”
The Albie Awards
“The Clooney Foundation for Justice is proud to announce our inaugural “Albie Awards” for a unique group of people across the world whose relentless fight for justice has put their lives at risk,” according to the website.
The website further explains that “The Albie Awards is named in honor of Justice Albie Sachs, who is revered for his heroic commitment to ending apartheid and whom we are honoring with a lifetime achievement award, will shine a spotlight on the role each one of them is playing in their fight for press freedom, democracy, women’s rights, and accountability for atrocity crimes.”
In an Instagram post, the foundation shares that The Albie Awards is “more than a single night of celebrating and honoring justice defenders. It is a commitment to wage justice and ensure that each of us plays our part in making the world a more just place.”
The inaugural Albie Awards honored the following as awardees:
Justice Albie Sachs: Lifetime Achievement in Pursuit of Justice Award
Before presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Pursuit of Justice to Albie Sachs, “Michelle Obama took some time to reflect on the work of Amal and George Clooney and the Clooney Foundation for Justice and the need for everyone to take an active role in waging justice, and the purpose behind The Albies – honoring those who were doing just that and, at great personal cost, standing up as leaders in the fight for a more just world.”
Maria Ressa @maria_ressa – Justice for Journalists Award
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iACT @iactivism – Justice for Survivors Award
Viasna 96 @viasna96 – Justice for Democracy Defenders Award
Josephine Kulea @josephinekulea for Samburu Girls Foundation @samburugirlsfdn – Justice for Women Award
To learn more about the Clooney Foundation for Justice and the Albie Awards, visit the website and follow them on Instagram.
Banner photo via Instagram @clooneyfoundationforjustice.
