26th Annual Human Rights Awards

Tuesday, June 3, 2025
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. CT
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
540 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Entrance on 541 N. Rush Street

The 26th Annual National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) Human Rights Awards honors human rights champions and celebrates the contributions of business, philanthropic, and community leaders.

The Human Rights Awards is NIJC's signature event and thanks to your support, people and families will continue to have access to life-changing immigration legal services and programs that protect immigrant rights. On behalf of the 12,000 people who receive NIJC's services, we sincerely appreciate your support.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER & JEANNE M. AND JOSEPH P. SULLIVAN AWARD RECIPIENT

JEWHER ILHAM is an author and an advocate for the Uyghur community and for her imprisoned father, Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti. Since she arrived in the US in 2013, Jewher has testified before U.S. Congress, served as keynote speakers at the Geneva Summit and the Oslo Freedom Forum and was invited by the former POTUS to the Oval office to shed light on the Uyghur issue. She has received numerous international awards on behalf of her father including the European Parliament’s Sakharov prize. She herself was awarded the Campaigner of the Year by Freedom United. 

She has also published op-eds in The New York Times, The Economist, CNN, Teen Vogue, Global Labor Column, and the Guardian. In 2015, she recounted her experiences in her first book, Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur’s Fight to Free Her Father. Her second book, Because I Have To: The Path to Survival, the Uyghur Struggle, was released in spring of 2022. 

Jewher now works at the Worker Rights Consortium as Forced Labor Project Coordinator and serves as a spokesperson for the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour. She is a co-producer and the protagonist for the groundbreaking and award-winning documentary film All Static and Noise (May 2023) about the plight of Uyghurs.
 

2025 AWARDEES

Human Rights Corporate Award: Zurich North America

Human Rights Practitioner Award: Arnold & Porter

2025 SPONSORS

(as of 3/5/2025)

 

Click here more information about becoming a sponsor of the Human Rights Awards.

Questions? Please contact Carrie Schwarz.