Australian Human Rights Lawyer Jennifer Robinson to Receive 2026 Sydney Peace Prize
May 5, 2026
2026 Jennifer Robinson
… upholding human rights through international law
The Sydney Peace Foundation is honoured to announce that the 2026 Sydney Peace Prize will be awarded to Jennifer Robinson, international human rights lawyer, barrister, author and advocate. Jen is acclaimed for her work in key human rights and media freedom cases, extensive pro-bono work, and advocacy for the rights of marginalised communities.
Jen grew up in Berry, a small rural town on the NSW South Coast, where she attended public schools. She went on to study at the Australian National University, working three jobs alongside her studies, before attending the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
At just 21, she spent a year in West Papua as part of her studies. Since then, she has continued to defend political prisoners and fight for human rights, advocating for the United Liberation Movement and its leader Benny Wenda, and co-founding International Lawyers for West Papua.
She has fearlessly defended free speech and human rights in some of the most significant and high-profile legal cases worldwide. She has fought the persecution and secured the freedom of arbitrarily detained journalists, protesters, human rights defenders, and Australian citizens. She has represented Julian Assange and WikiLeaks since 2010, working to secure his release in 2024.
She has worked as an advisor to UN investigations and has conducted international human rights missions for the International Bar Association. She secured the release of Australian Hazem Hamouda, who was imprisoned in Egypt for over a year without charge. She has acted for the BBC World Service, the bereaved family of assassinated Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and the International Federation of Journalists and bereaved family members of Palestinian journalists, including Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces.
On accepting the 2026 Sydney Peace Prize nomination, she said:
It is a profound and unexpected honour to receive the Sydney Peace Prize and to be recognised alongside Laureates who have inspired and shaped my practice as a human rights lawyer.
This recognition comes at a time when the international rule of law and human rights are under attack. International peace and security are under threat, not just from wars and war crimes, but also because of the climate crisis. In honouring me, you are also honouring the courageous clients and causes I have had the privilege to represent – individuals and movements who speak truth to power, challenge injustice, defend human rights and demand action on climate. I hope that this recognition will encourage them to continue – and encourage others to join in this effort.
I also hope this recognition will inspire young women from our public education system, and from rural and regional areas like where I come from, about what’s possible for them – because you can’t be what you can’t see. My sincere thanks to the Sydney Peace Foundation for this extraordinary honour and for championing the cause of peace and human rights.
A consistent advocate for women’s rights and combatting gender-based violence, Jen has fought the silencing and disadvantaging of women by the legal system. She examined this topic in her co-authored book How Many More Women?, driven by the reaction to her successful defence of Amber Heard in the 2020 defamation case taken by Johnny Depp against The Sun.
Jen has played a leading role in climate justice litigation. Representing Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands, she achieved a landmark resolution to take climate change to the International Court of Justice to clarify states’ obligations and hold countries accountable for climate harm under international law.
She founded the Bertha Justice Initiative, which supported the careers of nearly 500 young human rights lawyers and funded their training in full, and sits on the board of the Grata Fund. She is currently a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, which specialises in civil liberties and human rights.
Jen’s remarkable human rights achievements demonstrate the power international law, and her commitment to justice, which has at times put her at significant personal risk, exemplifies the values at the heart of the Sydney Peace Prize. She emboldens us to believe that a more peaceful and just world is possible.
Jen will be awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in the Lecture and Award Ceremony on Thursday 12 November 2026 at the Sydney Town Hall.
Join us in recognising her achievements and celebrating peace with justice at this historic event.