FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2003

CONTACT:
Maja Persson/Amanda Shanor, 202-463-7575

Washington, D.C.ó The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights will present the prestigious 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Julia Gabriel, Lucas Benitez, and Romeo Ramirez, three leaders of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a migrant labor organization based in Immokalee, Florida. The award ceremony is held on November 20th to commemorate the birthday of RFK; this will be the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Award.

An independent panel of judges ñ advised by luminaries such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu ñ has selected individuals from Liberia to Colombia as outstanding human rights defenders, who have fueled critical political and social movements and represent the central struggles of the past year and the start of a new groundswell. This year, for the first time, a U.S.-based organization has been chosen to receive the award.

ìSuch an event marks a watershed on thinking in human rights ñ for too long human rights violations have been thought of as something happening in other countries and the civil rights movement as something one studies in history classes ñ but the choices we make daily, like the food we buy, can either contribute to ugly human rights violations happening right here in the U.S. or contribute to ending such violations. It is our choice.î (Todd Howland, Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights)

The Taco Bell tacos and Pizza Hut pizzas Americans buy for lunch are all products made of basic ingredients picked by workers such as those in the CIW. To keep costs low, YUM! Brands, Inc. (the worldís largest fast food company, made up of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, A&W, and Long John Silverís) buys ingredients from companies that illegally keep migrant workers in the Southeastern United States in isolated forced labor camps, breaking both domestic and international human rights and labor standards.

Through their work, Ms. Gabriel, Mr. Benitez, and Mr. Ramirez have helped liberate over a thousand laborers held against their will by employers using debt bondage, violence ñ beatings, pistol-whippings, and shootings and a painstaking control system of the workersí whereabouts. After setting the workers free, the CIW has helped give voice to those afraid to come forward as witnesses, and after years of investigations, won prosecutions against three multi-state slavery operations. One of the convicted employers was Ms. Gabrielís own, as she is a former captive worker who escaped from a 400-worker slavery ring that operated in the fields of South Carolina and Florida.

Tens of thousands of people across the country support CIWís efforts to end modern-day slavery and worker exploitation. CIW seeks to obtain fair wages, stronger laws, and enforcement against those who would violate workers' rights, inclusion of agricultural workers in labor laws (which currently exclude them), and the right to organize without fear of retaliation. To date, CIWís efforts have led to the first raise in over 20 years for tomato pickers, an important step toward obtaining a living wage for agricultural workers.

The award ceremony will take place in Room 325 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 10:30 a.m. on 20 November and will be followed by a press conference in Room 385. U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy will host the ceremony, and Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy will present the award. There will be opportunities to interview the Award Laureates, Kennedy family members, RFK Center for Human Rights Director Todd Howland, and RFK Memorial Executive Director Lynn Delaney.

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award ceremony marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between the CIW and RFK Center for Human Rights that will put illegal exploitation of migrant laborers on the national agenda. During their five-day visit to Washington, D.C., the CIW, together with RFK Center for Human Rights staff, will begin their first round of meetings with Members of Congress and government agencies, in order to shed light on these labor practices and create a highly interdisciplinary base for the fight against modern-day slavery in the U.S.

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was established in 1984 by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to honor creative individuals who are engaged in strategic and nonviolent efforts to overcome serious human rights violation, are, often at great personal risk. Presented annually, the Award reflects Robert F. Kennedy's opposition to tyranny and his belief in the power of individual moral courage to overcome injustice. A panel of five independent judges selects the annual honoree, who receives a cash prize of $30,000. Today, there are 34 RFK Laureates from movements in 20 countries.

ìI come here today to honor you for the long and patient commitment you have made to this struggle for justice. And, I come here to say that we will fight together to achieve for you the aspirations of every American: decent wages, decent housing, decent schooling, a chance for yourselves and you children. You stand for justice and I am proud to stand with you. Viva la causa!î -- Robert F. Kennedy, 1968