Albie Sachs award: George and Amal Clooney honour SA judicial icon

It’s not every day you see Hollywood celebrities honouring South African judicial icons. But when it comes to George Clooney and Amal Clooney, everything is possible. Especially because Amal is seen as one of the best International and human rights lawyers in the world. This week, the Clooney Foundation For Justice revealed that its inaugural awards will be named after former Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs.

Albie Sachs, George Clooney and the fight for justice

The awards will be held for the first time on the 29th of September at the New York Public Library. They will be held each year and will be known as the “Albie awards”.

Sachs is set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the event in September. George and Amal have described Sachs as someone who has spent his “whole life fighting for justice.”

“Our inaugural ‘Albie Awards’ are for a unique group of people across the world whose relentless fight for justice has put their lives at risk.

The Albie Awards, named in honour of Justice Albie Sachs, who is revered for his heroic commitment to ending apartheid and whom we are honouring 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.”

Clooney Foundation for Justice

First ever Albie Award winners

You can read about the first-ever winners of the Albie award below.

Maria Ressa
JUSTICE FOR JOURNALISTS

Award-winning Filipino journalist, Nobel Prize winner, and CEO of Rappler,
Maria Ressa, faces a lifetime behind bars for her work in the Philippines after
she became known for exposing government corruption and human rights
violations through her reporting.

iACT
JUSTICE FOR SURVIVORS

iACT is a groundbreaking international organization that works alongside
survivors of genocide and other mass atrocities to co-create programs in support
of refugee communities. The group worked with CFJ to interview survivors from
Darfur, Sudan, who have been trapped in refugee camps in Chad for over a
decade.

Viasna
JUSTICE FOR DEMOCRACY DEFENDERS

Human rights group Viasna has been a voice of resistance in Belarus for nearly
30 years as it has led a brave campaign for freedom and democracy against
President Lukashenko’s regime. In the run up to and following the fraudulent
2020 presidential elections, the group has paid a high price for their work: seven
Viasna members have been detained on trumped-up charges and both of the
organization’s leaders are in jail.

Josephine Kulea
JUSTICE FOR WOMEN

Dr. Josephine Kulea is a Kenyan women’s rights campaigner and founder of
the Samburu Girls Foundation (SGF). SGF is a small non-profit organization that
helps to rescue girls from child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), and
other harmful practices. Josephine works with police and local authorities to
coordinate rescue missions for young girls at risk.