will honor Ryan Boyette, a human rights advocate based in Sudan, with its 2014 Human Rights First Award. Boyette is recognized for his courageous work documenting and drawing international attention to the ongoing attacks against civilians by the Sudanese government in conflicts largely hidden from worldview. The organization will present the Award at its annual gala on 22 October in New York. Human Rights First’s CEO Elisa Massimino stated: “We are inspired by Ryan’s commitment to keep the eyes of the world on the human rights crisis in southern Sudan.”
[In June 2011, following disputed elections in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, violence erupted between the Sudanese government and armed rebel forces. As retribution against the rebels, the Sudanese military launched a violent campaign targeting civilians, many of Nuban descent, in rebel-controlled territory. Three years later, indiscriminate bombings and violence continues in South Kordofan. Terrorized by daily air strikes, civilians have been killed and their property destroyed. In an effort to hide their crimes, the Sudanese government banned all journalists from the region. Boyette was working for an aid organization, but refused to leave – and made a commitment to expose the violence to the world. He founded Nuba Reports, a network of citizen and professional journalists that today covers not only South Kordofan, but also Blue Nile and increasingly Darfur where government forces bomb and attack civilians as well. Armed with nothing but video cameras, solar-powered laptops, and satellite phones, Boyette and the Nuba Reports team risk their lives to serve as witnesses for the world. …Ryan and his family have been threatened and targeted by the Sudanese government for Nuba Report’s work: Their home has been bombed and a government spy was shot outside a building where Boyette was sleeping.
For more on the Human Rights First Award and other such awards: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/award/human-rights-first-award
via Ryan Boyette to Receive Human Rights First Award | Human Rights First.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
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