Credits: Sean Reynolds from Liverpool, United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 2.0.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), founded by American actor George Clooney and his wife, attorney Amal Clooney, was declared "undesirable" in Russia this Monday, August 19, 2024. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office accuses the organization of subversive activities aimed at discrediting the Russian authorities and of supporting groups it describes as extremist and terrorist. This decision comes amid growing repression against certain international organizations and voices deemed dissident in Russia.
George Clooney, an American actor whose reputation needs no introduction, has also made himself a prominent figure in numerous humanitarian causes. His Hollywood career, marked by box-office successes, has never distracted him from his self-declared personal convictions. Clooney has regularly put his fame to work in defense of human rights, the fight against injustice, and support for victims of conflict. With Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer, they created the Clooney Foundation for Justice in 2016 to make their commitment to international justice a reality. The foundation aims to defend the rights of persecuted individuals, monitor unfair trials, and combat human rights violations around the world.
In particular, the CFJ has played a key role in documenting war crimes in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The foundation has helped gather evidence of human rights violations and promote legal action against those responsible for these crimes. This approach, focused on transparency and justice, quickly made the CFJ a target for the Russian government.
Russian authorities, under Vladimir Putin’s presidency, have intensified their crackdown on certain NGOs and foreign entities seen as agents of destabilization. Since the introduction in 2015 of the law on "undesirable organizations," many international organizations have been banned from the country. The Kremlin, still at war with Ukraine, is facing numerous sanctions. It justifies these bans by citing the need to protect national security and public order.
The CFJ, despite this ban, will likely continue its efforts on an international scale. George and Amal Clooney, thanks to their status and their commitment, have the ability to mobilize global public opinion against what they see as blatant injustices.