The MacArthur Foundation believes that respect for human rights is fundamental to human security and well-being; that both international and local human rights promotion is necessary for building a universal movement; and that an accessible system of international justice is essential for protecting human rights around the globe. MacArthur’s goals for human rights and international justice grantmaking include strengthening human rights inquiry and implementation internationally; encouraging the advancement of human rights laws and advocacy in Russia, Nigeria, and Mexico; and facilitating the development of an international system of justice. Following are representative grants.

View sections from the booklet:

• Message from the President
  
• International Justice
  
• Courts and Tribunals
  
• Emerging Norms and International Law
  
• International Human Rights Organizations
  
• Human Rights in Russia, Nigeria & Mexico
  
• Human Rights in Russia
  
• Human Rights in Nigeria
  
• Human Rights in Mexico
  
• About the MacArthur Award for International Justice
  

Message from the President

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. The Genocide Convention of 1948 proscribed the most heinous crime under law — the destruction of a people on the basis of their race, ethnicity, or religion. These and other international legal instruments, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949, helped to establish a new standard — that crimes against civilians, acts of torture, and genocide were inexcusable, even when following orders in time of war. The world appeared well on its way to fulfilling the promise of “never again.”

Yet in the past 20 years alone, we have witnessed ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia and genocide in Rwanda and Darfur. Elsewhere, we have seen systematic human rights abuses, acts of torture, and other affronts to our ideals of humanity go unpunished by national judicial systems.

But there is hope for a better future. With each new case tried in a regional human rights court or ad hoc tribunal, and every investigation opened up by the International Criminal Court, a system of international justice is emerging and growing stronger. It takes root with each deliberation that invokes the principle of the Responsibility to Protect. This global structure requires a solid foundation in national justice systems that respect human rights principles, protect ordinary citizens against police abuse and discrimination, and provide channels for complaint and redress. And it needs the efforts of committed advocates to entrench respect for the rule of law and a culture of human rights at all levels.

MacArthur has a long history of support for human rights and international justice. Our first grant in 1978 went to Amnesty International, followed by $300 million to nearly 600 organizations and individuals working to advance human rights around the globe and establish an international system of justice.

Our early grants in the 1980s and 1990s strengthened organizations that gave shape to the burgeoning human rights movement. MacArthur continues to invest in these groups, help strengthen the links among them, and find new partners in countries where the language and practice of human rights are taking hold.

Our current work has four parts:

• We seek to strengthen institutions in the international justice system, including the new International Criminal Court, regional human rights courts, and ad hoc tribunals.
• We support the development and implementation of new norms, such as the Responsibility to Protect.
• We give core support to select international human rights organizations that provide the infrastructure for the field — documenting abuses, holding governments accountable, and helping educate the public.
• We support local groups in three countries where MacArthur has offices: Russia, Nigeria, and Mexico. Our focus is police reform, improving the architecture for the rule of law, and encouraging strategic litigation in national and regional human rights courts.

Our belief in the power of civil society was borne out by the speed with which the International Criminal Court became an accepted international institution — perhaps the most important since the founding of the United Nations itself. The International Criminal Court is the cornerstone of a growing system of international courts and commissions that offer recourse to victims when national courts fail to act. Institutions such as the European Court in Strasbourg, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, the Extraordinary Chambers in Phnom Penh, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone redress egregious miscarriages of justice and put pressure on national courts to meet international standards.

This is a time for hope and determination. We take encouragement from the immense achievements of recent years — the articulation of firm principles, the building of a sturdy architecture for international justice, and the steady resolve of civil society organizations. Our generation has the chance to end impunity for the worst crimes against humanity. MacArthur, working with our grantees and their allies, is fully committed to meeting this challenge and furthering justice, security, and peace around world.

Jonathan F. Fanton
May 2009

International Justice

There are growing opportunities to deny impunity to human rights abusers, to deter future abuses, and to redress the injuries of victims when domestic systems are unresponsive. When national courts are unable or unwilling to act, international judicial bodies such as regional human rights courts, ad hoc tribunals, and the International Criminal Court can hold accountable and deter state and individual perpetrators of human rights abuses and provide redress to victims. The Foundation funds activities to promote the development and use of international courts and tribunals and the alignment of international laws with national justice systems.

Courts and Tribunals

• African Human Rights Consortium
  In support of capacity-building for African civil society organizations to participate effectively in the continent’s justice mechanisms.
• Agir Ensemble Pour Les Droits De l’Homme
  In support of efforts to bring the former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré, to justice.
• Alliances for Africa
  In support of the establishment of an effective African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including educational materials in Arabic.
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  In support of research and public education on the International Criminal Court and U.S. national security.
• American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education
  In support of activities to strengthen the Rwandan judiciary, including the traditional Gacaca courts, and for a program to prepare Sudanese lawyers for effective advocacy before the International Criminal Court.
• American Society for International Law
  In support of a task force to study U.S. policy toward the International Criminal Court.
• American University, Washington College of Law, War Crimes Research Office
  In support of the International Criminal Court Legal Analysis and Education Project.
• Avocats Sans Frontieres
  In support of legal assistance for victims of human rights violations related to International Criminal Court investigations in Congo.
• Balkan Archive
  In support of work to collect, catalogue, and computerize visual materials for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
• Center for Justice and International Law, Regional Office for Central America and Mexico
  In support of the promotion and defense of human rights in Mexico through the use of the Inter-American system for the protection of human rights.
• Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
  In support of a dialogue between the International Criminal Court Prosecutor and Senior Conflict Mediators.
• China University of Political Science and Law
  In support of a nationwide International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition.
• Coalition for an Effective African Court
  For start-up costs for a secretariat in Arusha and an information and communication initiative.
• Crimes of War Project
  For projects to educate journalists and the public about humanitarian law.
• Crisis Action
  For a campaign to promote cooperation by International Criminal Courts member states to enforce the Darfur arrest warrants.
• Darfur Peace and Development Organization
  In support of the Darfur Atrocity Crimes Documentation Project.
• Democracy Coalition Project
  In support of a cross-regional advocacy network dedicated to strengthening the new UN Human Rights Council.
• Democratic Republic of Congo-Coalition for the International Criminal Court
  In support of activities to promote understanding of the International Criminal Court and to encourage complementary national policies.
• DePaul University, College of Law, International Human Rights Law Institute
  In support of a final report on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and the participation of representatives of the Least-Developed Countries in the drafting and ratification process for the International Criminal Court.
• Documentation Center of Cambodia
  In support of the creation of an Observation Team to monitor the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia.
• Fund for War-Affected Children and Youth in Northern Uganda
  In support of community-driven initiatives to foster peace, justice, and reconciliation.
• Insight Collaborative
  To support interactive radio programming on the International Criminal Court in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa
  In support of a project to develop litigation for the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
• Institute for War and Peace Reporting
  To train journalists and develop objective reporting on the International Criminal Court in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Sudan.
• International Bar Association
  For an evaluation and educational program on the International Criminal Court.
• International Bridges to Justice
  In support of the China Legal Defenders Program.
• International Center for Transitional Justice
  In support of the Prosecutions Program: Building a Global System of Justice on the Foundations of the International Criminal Court.
• International Criminal Court
  In support of library purchases on victims and witnesses issues; a study visit of International Criminal Court judges to the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences in Siracusa, Italy; and educational outreach programs regarding the first prosecutions by the court.
• Mexican Coalition for the International Criminal Court
  In support of the implementation of the Rome Statute in Mexico.
• New York University Center on International Cooperation
  In support of the Project on International Courts and Tribunals.
• Redress Trust
  In support of a program to strengthen victims’ participation in proceedings of the International Criminal Court.
• Sisterhood is Global Institute
  For an educational project linking human rights with Islamic law and tradition.
• Skylight Pictures
  In support of “The Court of Last Resort,” a documentary film about the International Criminal Court.
• Stichting Institute for International Criminal Investigations Foundation
  In support of training and coordination.
• Tsinghua University Law School
  In support of training in basic legal knowledge for legal workers in judicial offices and village activists in rural areas.
• Ugandan Coalition for the International Criminal Court
  In support of grassroots outreach on the International Criminal Court.
• United Nations
  In support of international meetings related to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
• United Nations International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia
  In support of an outreach program to the former Yugoslavia.
• United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  In support of the Rapid Response Unit and Contingency Fund.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  In support of the Crisis Mapping Initiatives.
• University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Center for International Law
  In support of a project to advance the development of a database on international law and its use in domestic courts in Africa.
• University of British Columbia, Liu Institute for Global Issues
  In support of activities in northern Uganda to implement traditional justice mechanisms and coordinate them with national and international justice efforts.
• University of California, Berkeley, Human Rights Center
  To conduct population-based surveys of victims in International Criminal Court referral countries and for a database of child returnees from the Lord’s Resistance Army.
• University of Notre Dame, The Law School, Center for Civil and Human Rights
  For a project with the Center for Justice and International Law to explore the defense of economic, social, and cultural rights in Mexico before the Inter-American system.
• University of Notre Dame, The Law School, Center for Civil and Human Rights
  In support of an internship program at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
• Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict
  In support of a project to enhance human rights reporting and documentation of violations against children through cellular phone and solar technology.
• West African Bar Association
  To promote and protect human rights through the ECOWAS Community of Justice.
• Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice
  To ensure that gender issues are represented in the drafting and ratification process for the International Criminal Court and for activities that address gender issues in national implementing legislation for the Rome Statute.
• World Federalist Movement — Institute for Global Policy
  In support of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

Emerging Norms and International Law

For an international justice system to be effective, it will need the political will to support it — a process that frequently involves changes over time in the way people think about the international system, including highly sensitive issues such as state sovereignty in the context of human rights protection. An example is the Responsibility to Protect, articulated by the International Commission on State Sovereignty and Humanitarian Intervention, which was organized by the government of Canada in l999 at the request of UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2005. MacArthur was a leading funder of the Commission and subsequent efforts to build support for the principle and its implementation.

• Aspen Institute, Aspen Strategy Group
  To support a meeting of former foreign ministers and high-level officials to develop recommendations for implementing the Responsibility to Protect in Darfur, Sudan.
• Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  In support of regional meetings in Africa on the Responsibility to Protect.
• Center for the Study of International Organizations
  For a research project and policy dialogue on compliance with international law.
• El Colegio de Mexico, A.C.
  In support of a conference on the report “The Responsibility to Protect.”
• Global Policy Forum
  For strengthening NGO dialogue with the UN Security Council.
• Henry L. Stimson Center
  To develop military doctrine for the protection of civilians.
• International Crisis Group
  In support of field research and policy prescription in imminent or ongoing conflict situations.
• International Development Research Centre
  To establish the International Commission on Humanitarian Intervention.
• International Peace Academy
  For research on implementing the Responsibility to Protect in the United Nations system.
• Project Ploughshares
  In support of a regional meeting in southern Africa on “The Responsibility to Protect” report and a briefing for decision makers in the African Union.
• Ralph Bunche Institute of International Studies at Graduate Center at The City University of New York
  In support of the establishment of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
• Security Council Report
  To monitor the functioning of the UN Security Council.
• United Nations Office of Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide
  For a senior staff position to oversee work on the Responsibility to Protect.
• United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
  In support of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change.
• World Federalist Movement — Institute for Global Policy
  In support of information dissemination and exchange on the Responsibility to Protect.

International Human Rights

To strengthen the human rights infrastructure, MacArthur assists a core of organizations that work in many parts of the world to monitor and document human rights abuses. These groups attend to a range of major issues, such as the protection of civilians in conflict, the impunity of security forces, and patterns of discrimination leading to human rights violations. Grounded in evidence, their strategies include documentation, analysis, litigation, and information dissemination to bring attention to rights abuses, contribute to human rights jurisprudence, and influence policy.

International Human Rights Organizations

• Altus Global Alliance
  For a global alliance for police accountability and justice reform.
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
  In support of scientific analysis of human rights data for the application of geospatial technologies to human rights.
• Amnesty International USA
  In support of general operations and the Campaign to Abolish Torture.
• Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions
  In support of the Advisory Council of Jurists.
• Benetech
  In support of the development of technology for secure reporting and documenting human rights abuses.
• Carter Center
  In support of the Human Rights Program.
• Center for Economic and Social Rights
  In support of general operations and a new approach to monitor and advocate for economic and social rights.
• Center for Research Libraries
  In support of a study on the use of technology by human rights organizations to document human rights abuses.
• Columbia University, Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research
  For establishing a center to house the archives of leading human rights organizations.
• Federation Internationale Des Ligues Des Droits De L’Homme
  To facilitate victims’ participation in the early cases of the International Criminal Court.
• Global Rights
  In support of general operations, training and technical support for human rights organizations in developing countries and emerging democracies.
• Harvard Law School, Berkman Center for Internet and Society
  In support of a study of how governments use the Internet to monitor their citizens’ online behavior.
• Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
  In support of the development of measurement and quantitative indicators in human rights practice.
• Helsinki Watch
  In support of monitoring and reporting on human rights in the 52 countries in Europe, North America, and Asia that have signed the Helsinki Accords.
• Human Rights First
  In support of general operations and international human rights research, advocacy, and publications.
• Human Rights in China
  In support of work to advance human rights in China.
• Human Rights Watch
  For institutional support.
• Institute of International Education, International Human Rights Internship Program
  In support of the international human internship program.
• Inter-American Institute of Human Rights
  In support of research and training on economic, social, and cultural rights.
• INTERIGHTS, International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights
  In support of the effective use of law to promote human rights and for a database on human rights case law.
• International Rescue Committee
  To support human rights reporting and related post-conflict development activities.
• National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Human Rights
  In support of general operations.
• Physicians for Human Rights
  For institutional support.
• Public Interest Projects
  In support of the International Human Rights Funders Group.
• Refugees International
  In support of human rights reporting and policy advocacy.
• Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims
  In support of efforts to decentralize the treatment of victims of torture.
• Tides Center, Center for Sustainable Human Rights Action
  To strengthen the institutional capacity of local human rights groups.
• U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
  In support of the World Refugee Survey.

Human Rights in Russia, Nigeria & Mexico

The international human rights movement depends on strong domestic human rights laws, institutions, and advocates that root human rights and justice in a place and a culture. The Foundation’s grants seek to strengthen locally based organizations in Russia, Nigeria, and Mexico — three regional leaders with democratic aspirations and vibrant civil societies. Grants support a nucleus of nongovernmental (NGO) and governmental efforts to incorporate human rights standards in their legal systems, to decrease police abuse through litigation and institutional reform, and to professionalize national human rights institutions and ombuds systems.

Human Rights in Russia

The Foundation supports about 60 human rights organizations in Russia. Grants are made to strengthen Moscow-based organizations that serve as centers for Russia-wide networks and to build up emerging human rights NGOs in ten regions of Russia (Krasnodar, Moscow Oblast, Nizhnii Novgorod, Perm, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Tatarstan, and Voronezh).

The areas of particular focus include promoting the reform of existing police structures and combating the use of torture by the police; strengthening the institution of the regional human rights ombudsmen; and fostering Russian use of the European Court of Human Rights as a mechanism for improving Russian human rights law.

• All Russian Public Movement for Human Rights
  In support of work to promote human rights in Russia.
• Amnesty International London
  In support of the project Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
• Association of Groups for Public Investigations
  In support of the project Resistance to Violations of Human Rights: Murders, Tortures, and Arbitrary Arrests.
• Center of Clinical Legal Education and Human Rights Protection
  In support of the project Alignment of Russian Law and Legal Practice with European Standards of Human Rights.
• Center for Public Information
  In support the project Assistance to Consolidation of NGOs and Mass Media in Protecting Human Rights.
• Center for the Promotion of International Defense
  In support for a training program for lawyers in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
• Center for the Support of Democratic Youth Initiatives
  In support of activities to promote the rights of young men of conscript age.
• Central-Blacksoil Center for Protection of Media Rights
  In support of activities to protect media rights in Central Russia.
• Charitable Foundation in Support of Civil Society Initiatives “Fulcrum”
  In support of a regranting program to promote human rights activities in 13 priority regions in the Russian Federation.
• Charities Aid Foundation
  In support of activities to assist Russian NGOs with the implementation of the new NGO legislation in Russia.
• Committee for Civil Rights
  In support of activities to combat police abuse in Moscow city and region.
• Consortium of Women’s Non-Governmental Associations
  In support of activities, including collaboration with human rights ombudsmen at the federal and regional level, to protect women’s rights in Russia.
• Glasnost Defense Foundation
  In support of a project to monitor violations of mass media rights in the Russian Federation.
• Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
  For a training program to strengthen the network of human rights activists in Russia.
• Independent Council of Legal Expertise
  In support of activities to facilitate reform of the courts and law enforcement agencies and to purchase a permanent office in Moscow.
• Interregional Foundation “Association of Ombudsmen”
  In support of a unified database for complaints and an intranet for ombudsmen.
• Interregional Human Rights Group
  In support of human rights networking activities in the Voronezh region of the Russian Federation.
• Jurix
  To promote the institution of human rights ombudsmen in the Russian Federation.
• Kazan Human Rights Center
  In support of a long-term strategy to combat police abuse in Russia.
• London Metropolitan University, European Human Rights Advocacy Centre
  For activities to promote access to the European Court of Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
• Moscow Center for Gender Studies
  In support of activities to promote women’s human rights and gender equality in Russia.
• Moscow Helsinki Group
  To strengthen the human rights movement in Russia through monitoring and the development of a regional monitoring network.
• Nizhny Novgorod Regional Non-Governmental Organization “Committee Against Torture”
  In support of strategic activities to combat police abuse in Russia.
• Novorossiysk City Charitable NGO “FRODO”
  In support of improving human rights in the Krasnodar Region.
• Perm Civic Chamber
  In support of activities to promote the human rights community in the Russian Federation.
• Perm Regional Human Rights Center
  To combat abuse by police and prison officers in Russia.
• PRIMA Human Rights News Agency
  In support of a human rights news service for Russian and foreign journalists to disseminate human rights information widely in both Russia and abroad.
• Public Verdict Fund
  In support of a range of activities to combat police abuse in Russia.
• Saratov Legal Reform Project
  In support of work on the reform of legal science, practice, and education in Russia.
• St. Petersburg Center of Humanities and Political Studies “Strategy”
  To support the development of the institution of the regional human rights Ombudsman in the Russian Federation.
• Sutiazhnik Public Association
  In support of the project titled, “Using Internet Technologies to Strengthen Human Rights NGOs and Media with a Human Rights Orientation in the Russian Federation.”
• Women of the Don Region
  To promote reform of the regional police force.
• Youth Human Rights Movement
  In support of activities to promote tolerance in the Voronezh region of the Russian Federation.

Human Rights in Nigeria

The Nigeria human rights portfolio currently includes 30 grantees. Grants seek to build up leading human rights organizations, both nationally and in the states of Lagos, Kano, Plateau, and Rivers, and to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission. Special attention is given to improving human rights protections in Nigeria’s legal architecture through reform of criminal law and procedure and to police reform and the reduction of police abuse through the development of indicators of police violence and civilian oversight. The advent of regional venues for lodging complaints of human rights violations — The African Court on Justice and Human Rights or the ECOWAS Human Rights Court — suggest new pressure points for improvements at the national level.

• Access to Justice
  In support of activities to protect against extra-judicial killings through the revival of State Coroner laws and procedures.
• Ahmadu Bello University, Faculty of Law, Centre for Islamic Legal Studies
  In support of public education on Sharia’h criminal procedure in the northern states of Nigeria.
• Centre for Research and Documentation
  In support of a project on conflict management and the media in Nigeria.
• Civil Liberties Organisation
  To research and publish information on human rights violations in Nigeria.
• CLEEN Foundation
  For the conduct of a national crime victimization survey, three national surveys to measure public perceptions of the electoral process in the April 2007 general elections, and to purchase office space.
• Federal Ministry of Justice
  To revise and publish the laws of Nigeria to reflect basic democratic norms.
• Global Rights
  To build the capacity of human rights organizations in Kano State to document and report on human rights violations.
• Human Rights Law Service
  In support of efforts to suspend the use of capital punishment in Nigeria.
• Human Rights Monitor, Nigeria
  In support of work to protect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
• League for Human Rights
  In support of a project to promote the right to equality and nondiscrimination in Plateau State.
• Legal Aid Council of Nigeria
  For the reform of pretrial detention and legal aid service delivery.
• Legal Defence and Assistance Project
  To strengthen and reform the administration of criminal justice in six states in Nigeria.
• Legal Research Initiative
  To incorporate the United Nations Convention Against Torture into the operations of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
• National Human Rights Commission
  To implement the National Action Plan for the promotion and protection of human rights and to document and report on human rights violations in Nigeria.
• Network on Police Reform in Nigeria
  In support of general operations and a workshop on crime and policing in Nigeria.
• Nigeria Police Force
  For activities to increase collaboration between civil society and the police.
• Nigerian Bar Association
  To train Nigerian lawyers on the use of regional and subregional mechanisms for human rights protection.
• Social and Economic Rights Action Center
  In support of the advancement of economic, social, and cultural rights in Nigeria.
• Supreme Court of Nigeria
  In support of activities to improve library databases and expand technical capacity.
• University of Ibadan, Faculty of Law
  In support of strengthening the human rights and rule of law program.
• Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative
  In support of incorporating human rights into Islamic family law and practices in Northwestern Nigeria.

Human Rights in Mexico

MacArthur currently funds 25 organizations in Mexico. A major objective is to support the development of a core of national human rights groups that work on a range of human rights issues and press the agenda of governmental structural reform through strategic litigation in Mexican courts and in the Inter-American system. In addition, the strategy has included attention to emerging organizations in the states of Guerrero and Jalisco that are often the first points of contact for victims of systemic human rights violations. Finally, grantmaking addresses two issues at both the national and state levels: professionalizing and fostering civil society collaborations with the country’s ombud system and facilitating emerging work on police reform, including research on public security and policing.

• Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos
  For a program to protect Mexican journalists, and to produce human rights shadow reports in eight Mexican states.
• Centro de Derechos Humanos, Fray Francisco de Vitoria, O.P.A.C.
  To support legal assistance, litigation, and monitoring of the National Human Rights Program.
• Centro de Derechos Humanos “Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez,” A.C.
  To support the defense of paradigmatic cases of human rights violations in Mexico in national and international courts.
• Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montana, Tlachinollan A.C.
  For the defense of the human rights of the indigenous people of the mountain and Costa Chica regions of Guerrero.
• Centro Regional de Derechos Humanos “Bartolome Carrasco,” A.C. 
  To promote human rights education among indigenous communities in Oaxaca’s Southern Sierra region.
• Comision Mexicana de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos 
  To support litigation on human rights in Mexico.
• Due Process of Law Foundation 
  In support of improving human rights in the state of Guerrero, Mexico.
• Federal District Human Rights Commission 
  To build capacity and networking among human rights ombudsmen in Mexico.
• FUNDAR, Centro de Analisis e Investigacion 
  In support of strengthening the public human rights commissions and for purchase of office space.
• Guerrero Human Rights Network 
  To support the strengthening of the legal defense of human rights in the state of Guerrero.
• Human Rights Legal Assistance 
  In support of human rights strategic litigation.
• Instituto Mexicano para el Desarrollo Comunitario A.C. 
  To support the creation of a formal human rights network in the state of Jalisco.
• Instituto para la Seguridad y la Democracia A.C. 
  In support of strengthening police accountability and civil society capacity building.
• Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico Centro de Estudios de Derecho Publico (Public Law Studies Center) 
  In support of monitoring and evaluating the performance of Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission.
• Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos “Todos los Derechos para Todos”
  To strengthen human rights organizations and coordinate strategy for human rights activities in 20 Mexican states.
• Sin Fronteras I.A.P. 
  In support of activities to strengthen human rights protection for migrants and refugees in Mexico.
• United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
  In support of technical cooperation with the government of Mexico to strengthen human rights.
• Universidad Ibero 
  In support of a human rights program.
• Universidad de Chile Instituto de Asuntos Publicos 
  In support of a policing research network in Mexico to strengthen programs for police reform.

About the MacArthur Award for International Justice

In 2007, the Foundation’s Board of Directors created the MacArthur Award for International Justice. The award honors individuals and organizations that have

• been transformative forces in the fields of human rights and international justice;
• improved existing — or helped create new — institutions, norms, and systems of international justice; and
• demonstrated long-term commitment and made a significant personal contribution to advancing international justice.

Award recipients receive $100,000 and are invited to suggest an additional $500,000 in support for nonprofit organizations working on international justice issues.

In selecting Kofi A. Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, as the inaugural recipient of the Award, MacArthur’s Board cited his role in the establishment of the International Criminal Court and his leadership in developing the principle of the Responsibility to Protect.

Justice Richard Goldstone is the recipient of the 2009 Award. As the first Chief Prosecutor of the Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, he helped shepherd these courts, the first of their kind since Nazi war criminals were tried at Nuremberg following World War II. In 1995, Goldstone filed charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic for their roles in the “ethnic cleansing” of Bosnian Muslims, as well as torture, rape, the shelling of Sarajevo, and the sacking of mosques and Catholic churches.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Prosecutor in 1994, Goldstone was chair of the Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation (commonly called “the Goldstone Commission”) in the aftermath of apartheid in his native South Africa. His service on the Commission proved invaluable to the democratic transition in that country, where he also served as an inaugural justice of the Constitutional Court.

More information about the MacArthur Award for International Justice.