2011 Gruber Justice Prize

Barbara Arnwine became executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in 1989.  She led the Committee’s efforts to secure Congressional passage of what became the Civil Rights Act of 1991.  Following the presidential election of 2000, she led the nationwide, nonpartisan Election Protection Program, which, by 2008, was one of the largest pro bono programs in the U.S.  Ms. Arnwine helped ensure that over 250,000 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina would not be evicted from hotels and shelters until alternative housing had been found.  She has also fought for human rights internationally – on behalf of Haitian refugees in investigating conditions at Guantanamo Bay and as the leader of a delegation to the UN’s 1995 Decade of Women Conference and NGO Forum in Beijing.    

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is a leading force within Israel for the protection of human rights for all people, including Arab citizens living within Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. It has sought to end the practice of racial profiling at airports and to protect the right to privacy and freedom of expression and other rights that may be threatened by national security concerns.  ACRI has challenged restrictions on the movement of West Bank residents and has worked to increase access to health services, education and adequate housing.  It has achieved remarkable success in the courts in the area of LGBT rights, including gaining recognition of same-sex marriages that were performed abroad, as well as the legal adoption abroad of a child by the biological mother’s lesbian partner.

Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) has played a leading role in holding high-ranking military officers accountable for political executions, torture, detention and disappearances that took place during Argentina’s “Dirty War” – the period of military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.  Since its founding in 1979, CELS has sought to bring the perpetrators to justice and compel the government to provide information to people regarding the fate of family members who disappeared. When the government halted the trials through amnesty and impunity laws, CELS was a main actor in the process to have those laws nullified and succeeded in reopening the cases that had been closed in the 1980s.  When witness protection issues and other problems were revealed, CELS addressed them with a proposal that led to the creation of three new governmental units.

Morris Dees gave up a successful business career to seek justice for victims of racial discrimination.  A cofounder of the Southern Poverty Law Center in 1971, he succeeded in securing the court-ordered integration of the all-white Montgomery, Alabama, YMCA and the Alabama state troopers, and in forcing the redistricting of the Alabama legislature.  He and his organization have challenged the death penalty in Alabama and improved conditions in prisons and mental health facilities.   Dees has also taken on hate groups, securing a $7 million verdict against the notorious United Klans of America for the family of a young black student who had been lynched by members of the Klan.  His Teaching Tolerance classroom materials, designed to teach appreciation of diversity and democratic values, are widely used.

Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) is a London-based organization that seeks to focus international attention on human rights violations committed against people living within the Kurdish regions.  Since its founding in 1992, it has represented more than 500 applicants in cases brought to hold governments accountable for victimization of their citizens and to mandate local compliance with international human rights standards.  Its observation of trials reminds local tribunals that there is international interest in rights compliance, and its fact-finding missions have been a valuable source of information about human rights violations in areas where such information is typically not otherwise available. KHRP’s reports and briefing papers are an important resource for governmental bodies throughout Europe and the world.