Rifat Kassis has long been active in human rights working in Middle East, Northern Caucasus, Central Asia and Europe. He founded the Palestinian section of Defense for Children International and was elected International President for two terms in Geneva. Furthermore, he was selected to be the State of Palestine candidate for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
He co-founded the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) and The National Coalition of Christian Organizations (NCCOP). He served as Executive Director of EJYMCA and founded the YMCA/YWCA Olive Tree Campaign. He also ran the WCC /EAPPI program in Geneva and worked as the country director of the Lutheran World federation in Jordan.
He is one of the co-authors of Kairos Palestine document and its General Coordinator as well as its global coalition.
He published two books and contributed to 16 different books in different languages.