“Human Rights First’s approach … [is] smart, strategic, and principled.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
“If there is a more effective outfit than Human Rights First, I have not seen it.”
Brigadier General James P. Cullen (Ret.)
“Thanks for what Human Rights First has done [against the use of torture.]“
General David Petraeus [clip below].
“I met [with HRF] about 7 months ago for the first time, and here we are with a response to a problem that has been troubling us for years…”
Dmitri Makarov, Youth Human Rights Movement (Russia)
[Human Rights First is] “men and women of great character and integrity who have always put—human rights first.”
Rep. Jim McGovern, Chair Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at Congressional
“I never thought I’d live to see the day when a group of generals was working closely with a human rights group.”
Vice-President Joseph Biden
“Elisa Massimino … is really one of the finest leaders on human rights that I have ever known.”
Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.)
About Our Asylum Work
“Human Rights First develops strong cases and clients; when I have a pro bono case from HRF, I know I have a chance to make in impact.”
Pro bono asylum lawyer Steven H. Schulman, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
“Thanks to you, I have safely left my former situation and can begin to re-establish myself without fear of threat. Your selfless assistance has made a huge difference in my life! Keep up the great work; you have my deepest respect.”
Asylum client from Afghanistan
“Thank you Human Rights First for all you support and your help. I don’t have enough words to say thank and to tell you how I appreciated your support.”
Asylum client from Cameroon
“I pray God to repay you all the good you sowed, and crown it all with happy married life and children.”
From detained asylum client
“I could not have afforded the lawyers that you found for me even for one second—they are very expensive.”
Asylum client
“I wasn’t just being treated as a client, I was being treated as a human being.”
Nigerian asylum client, student activist
About Our Support for Human Rights Defenders
“Your intervention is a strong support for our work. Mayan lawyers have been left without a voice given that everything we say is used against us. Your communication gives us some breathing room to allow us to continue litigating.”
Amilcar Pop, President of the Guatemalan Mayan Lawyers Association—subject to baseless criminal accusations and death threats
“Thank you very much for your support, I now feel more accompanied in my pain.”
Jorge Lopez, Director of the Organization to Support an Integrated Sexuality to Confront AIDS (OASIS)—detained in Colombia for 57 days on the unfounded accusation of attempting to murder one of his clients
“I would like to reiterate my appreciation for the unwavering attention you have provided us and the good will and excellent and professional support you have given. I do not have sufficient words to convey to you how much your presence has meant in our lives.”
Athemay Sterling, Professor and Director of the Colombian Committee for the Protection of Human Rights who was detained in the United States for five months based on unfounded accusations of links to terrorism
“It is such an encouragement to be able to rely on the unflinching support of Human Rights First.”
Danilo Rueda, Director, Colombian Inter-Church Commission of Justice and Peace
About Our Work Against Discrimination and Hate Crime
“Human Rights First is unique in the human rights community for making anti-Semitism a priority.”
Kenneth Jacobson, Deputy National Director, Anti-Defamation League
“Human Rights First has helped us turn anguish into action, and then into concrete change that has saved lives.”
Julius Kaggwa, Director the Support Initiative for People with Atypical Sex Development, Uganda
“Thank you Human Rights First. … you arrive when the need is great, and you stay for the long struggle.”
Viktoria Mohacsi, founder of Desegregation, a group in Hungary that fights hate crimes against Roma
“The report [Hate Crime Survey: Ukraine] is of significant importance for our Institution and will be used in our work.”
Nina Karpachova, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights
“We are happy to have a strong partner in Human Rights First, and appreciate HRF’s commitment to combating the rise of hate crime in Russia.”
Alexander Verkhovsky, SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, Moscow
About Our Work Against Torture
“Human Rights First very much enabled us to speak out.”
Brigadier General James P. Cullen (Ret.)
“I have seen over and over not only how sound Human Rights First’s policy arguments are, but also how effectively Human Rights First works to put those policies into practice. Many organizations claim to be effective, but I’ve seen just how far Human Rights First stands apart from the others: In January [2009], I was honored to stand behind President Obama in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders to close Guantanamo and end torture—orders that in my view never would have crossed that historic desk without the smart and strategic work of Human Rights First.”
Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, Board Member and Volunteer, Human Rights First