The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) has spent a quarter century dedicated to seeking truth, justice, and redress for war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and other atrocities around the world through our litigation, transitional justice initiatives, and advocacy. We pursue international justice from the ground up, working in solidarity and partnership with victims, survivors, and their communities. We believe that our approach to international human rights is uniquely suited to pursuing justice in the world today.

Champion of Justice

The Champion of Justice Award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the field of human rights. This year, it is our privilege to present this award to two human rights defenders who exemplify what it means to bring justice and international human rights home.

Dale Minami

Dale Minami is a San Francisco based lawyer and is one of our country’s leading voices for civil and human rights. Among his many achievements in advancing equality in the United States, Mr. Minami led the legal team that overturned the conviction of Fred Korematsu, who bravely defied the United States government’s mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Mr. Minami and his team successfully challenged the Supreme Court’s 1944 decision in Korematsu v. United States, widely considered one of the most unjust decisions in our nation’s history. His approach to justice has always been rooted in community, and in 1972, he co-founded the Asian Law Caucus, the first organization in the United States dedicated to promoting, advancing, and representing the legal and civil rights of Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Mr. Minami’s work empowering lawyers and advocates from impacted communities to lead the fight for justice is an inspiration for our work at CJA.

E. Tendayi Achiume

E. Tendayi Achiume is the inaugural Alicia Miñana Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. She was also the United Nations Human Rights Council’s fifth Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and is the first woman to serve in this role. As Special Rapporteur, Professor Achiume examined racial discrimination through an intersectional lens, looking at racism in the context of systems and structures governing citizenship, nationality, and immigration. She researched the intersection between racial equality and the global extractives industry and presented the UN with the threats to racial equality that nationalist populism poses. In her final report she called for urgent action to address ecological crisis, climate injustice and racial justice.Professor Achiume powerfully brought justice back home to the United States when in the wake of the extrajudicial killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement; she led 65 other UN Special Rapporteurs in calling for the U.S. government to take action on systemic racism and state violence. At a time when international justice demands an approach that accounts for the structural and systemic factors that lead to atrocity, Professor Achiume’s innovative work shows us a way forward.

The Judith Lee Stronach Award

The Judith Lee Stronach Award honors individuals and organizations who have made an outstanding contribution to the movement for global justice. This year, we presented this award to the Syrian British Consortium (SBC) in recognition of their investigation into international crimes committed during the 2012 Darayya Massacre in Syria. SBC is an advocacy group that amplifies the voices of Syrians towards building a democratic and inclusive Syria, and it was our privilege to work alongside them during their multi-year investigation into this iconic event of the Syrian conflict. Led by Syrian investigators – including some originally from Darayya – SBC’s groundbreaking project established crucial details on the crimes committed, entities responsible, and means through which the attack was coordinated and executed.

The Partner in Justice Award

The Partner in Justice Award recognizes the remarkable partnerships that make CJA’s work possible. This year, we presented this award to Keker, Van Nest & Peters for their partnership and contributions to our historic victory in bringing justice to the victims of Argentina’s Trelew Massacre. Together, we put an end to fifty years of impunity for one of the key perpetrators of the Trelew Massacre. Thanks to KVP’s partnership, a jury in Florida found Roberto Guillermo Bravo responsible for extrajudicial killing and torture. This was the first time Bravo has been held to account after years of resisting extradition to Argentina, which is seeking to put him on trial for his role in the Massacre. Together, we conducted discovery while much of the world was in lockdown in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic; the impressive skill and trial expertise of the KVP team made it possible for us to bring justice to the victims’ families, who have been unyielding in their decades-long struggle for accountability.

Performances

CJA was thrilled to have Kronos Quartet and Kevork Mourad perform at the 25th Anniversary Gala.

Kronos Quartet »

Bio »

Kevork Mourad »

Bio »

THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 SPONSORS

Champion of Justice $40,000

Justice Advocate $25,000

Justice Defender $15,000

Kevork Mourad

Justice Warrior $10,000

Mina Titi Liu & Eric Rosenblum

PAST HONOREES AND SPEAKERS

PAST CORPORATE AND ORGANIZATIONAL SPONSORS

• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
  (formerly Farallone Pacific Insurance Services)
• AT&T
• Baker Botts LLP
• Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
• Bertrand, Fox, Elliot, Osman & Wenzel
• Beveridge & Diamond PC
• Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
• California Labor Federation
• Clinton Reilly Landmark Properties
  (formerly Clinton Reilly Holdings)
• Cooley LLP
• Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP
• Covington & Burling LLP
• Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
• Dentons
• DLA Piper
• Donahue Fitzgerald LLP
  (formerly Fitzgerald Abbot & Beardsley LLP)
• Eagle Harbor Group LLC
• Frisby & Associates
• Gap Foundation
• Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
• Ghosh Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors
• Hadsell Stormer Renick Dai LLP
  (formerly Hadsell & Stormer, Inc.)

• Holland & Knight LLP
• Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP
  (formerly Keker & Van Nest LLP)
• Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
• King & Spalding LLP
• King Family Foundation
• Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• Latham & Watkins LLP
• Meyers Nave
• Minami Tamaki LLP
• Mintz Group
• Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
• Morrison & Foerster LLP
• The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
• Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
• Nolan, Barton, Olmos LLP
  (formerly Nolan, Armstrong & Barton, LLP)
• Norton Rose Fullbright
  (formerly Chadbourne & Parke LLP)
• O’Melveny & Meyers LLP
• Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
• Pacific Gas & Electric Company
• Renne Public Law Group
  (formerly Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP)

• Roje Consulting LLC
• Ropes & Gray LLP
• Rosen, Bien, Galvin & Grunfeld LLP
• Sack Properties
• Salesforce Foundation
• Sandler Foundation
• Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP
  (formerly Sanford Heisler Kimpel, LLP)
• Sard Verbinnem & Co.
• Shargel & Co.
• Shearman & Sterling
• Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
• SNR Denton
  (formerly Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP)
• Squire Patton Boggs
  (formerly Patton Boggs LLP)
• Steptoe & Johnson LLP
• Union Bank
• Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP
• Van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation
• Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation
• Zalayet, Adler, & Suba Private Wealth Management

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art acted only as the venue for the Center for Justice and Accountability gala event and was not otherwise affiliated with any fundraising activity or event sponsorship. Any views expressed by the Center for Justice and Accountability were strictly those of the Center for Justice and Accountability and did not necessarily represent those of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.