Posts Tagged ‘awards’
November 18, 2014
RadioVop in Zimbabwe reported on 14 November 2014 that Kennedy Masiye, a human rights lawyer who was brutally assaulted by the police recently, has been honoured by the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) for his outstanding contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights in the country.
Masiye, a senior project lawyer with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) was named as the human rights lawyer of the year 2014 at the LSZ’s Summer School held in Nyanga last week. Masiye could not attend the award ceremony as he was detained in hospital (see picture above) recovering from acts of police brutality meted on him while in the course of discharging his professional duties.
[The LSZ’s human rights award is sponsored by Scanlen and Holderness Legal Practitioners and targets junior to mid-career lawyers under 35 years of age]
Masiye has represented and secured acquittals for several human rights defenders in the country including some former farm workers and villagers facing eviction from their living quarters.
“I am humbled by the award. At least the work that I am doing as a human rights lawyer is being recognised by the legal fraternity. ZLHR has enabled me to explore my potential in the human rights field. The award is an icing on the cake given the work that we have being doing at ZLHR,” said Masiye.
RadioVop Zimbabwe – Battered Lawyer Wins Zim Law Society Award.
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Tags: awards, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyer, Kennedy Masiye, Law Society, Law Society of Zimbabwe, police brutality, RadioVop, rule of law, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
November 12, 2014
(Fartuun Adan, Director of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, Mogadishu/Somalia. Photo: Fartuun Adan)
The Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation’s human rights award 2014 recognizes Fartuun Adan’s long-standing and persistent commitment to the human rights of women in the complex political context of a society shaped by decades of civil war in Somalia. Bestowing the human rights award on the director of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center also acknowledges that women are no mere victims of violence and discrimination, but socio-political actors, who actively contribute to peace and reconciliation.
[Fartuun Adan is the director of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center. She founded the organization in 1991 with her husband Elman Ali Ahmed, who was murdered five years later and after whom the center is named today. After his death, Fartuun Adan immigrated to Canada with her daughters. In spite of ongoing conflicts, she returned to Mogadishu in 2007 to continue her work for peace and reconciliation. The Elman Peace and Human Rights Center advocates for women’s and children’s rights under difficult political circumstances. It was the first non-governmental organization providing survivors of gender-based violence and vulnerable women with legal and psychological support, health care and shelter. Furthermore, it advocates for long-term reconciliation and development, and cooperates with OXFAM, ILO and others to support the social reintegration of former child soldiers.]
The award ceremony will take place on 4 December, 2014, 15:00 h, at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastr. 28, 10785 Berlin. The laudation will be held by Christoph Strässer, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid.
For more information on the Ebert award, see: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/friedrich-ebert-foundation-human-rights-award.
Human Rights Award of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: awards, Berlin, Christoph Strasser, conflict and peace, digest of human rights awards, Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, Fartuun Adan, Friedrich Ebert Human Rights Award, human rights award, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, Mogadishu, rights of children, Somalia, woman human rights defender
October 29, 2014
Adilur Rahman Khan addresses IBA annual conference in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: AHRC Press Centre
Bangladesh human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan, of the human rights organisation Odhikar, has won the 2014 International Bar Association (IBA) Human Rights Award.
Adilur received the award from IBA President Michael Reynolds at the Rule of Law Symposium held at the conclusion of the IBA Annual Conference in Tokyo, which finished on 24 October. In October 1994, he founded the human rights organisation Odhikar, which has undertaken extensive fact-finding and reporting of human rights violations in Bangladesh. During the presentation of the award, Reynolds said, “Let us be reminded that lawyers play a vital role in promoting justice, human rights and upholding the rule of law, both at home and abroad. May Mr Khan’s courage, determination and resilience be an inspiration to lawyers everywhere.”In his acceptance speech, Adilur told the 200 delegates gathered at the Symposium, ‘The Rule of Law is under serious threat in my country. Justice for all the ongoing gross human rights violations is inaccessible for victims and their families. Their right to access to complaint mechanisms is denied, regardless of whatever is written in the laws or the Constitution of the country”. Repressive laws are in force and the independence of the judiciary is under attack in a spree of politicisation of institutions of the state, he added.
via Adilur gets IBA int’l human rights award.
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 1 Comment »
Tags: Adilur Rahman Khan, awards, Bangladesh, digest of human rights awards, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyers, human rights violations, IBA, International Bar Association, JFK human rights award, MEA final nominee 2014, recognition, THF
October 22, 2014
The 2014 Sakharov Prize goes to the Congolese physician Denis Mukwege for his treatment of the victims of gang rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congolese physician Denis Mukwege, will be awarded this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Mukwege has been treating rape victims at a clinic in Bukavu on the Rwandan border for decades. He has performed thousands of surgeries on women to heal their injuries sustained in violent attacks, often by local militias. The 59-year-old founded a gynaecology unit and maternity ward in Bukavu in 1996, the first of its kind in the area. He has since expanded the station to an entire hospital, which he runs. The Second Congo War began in August 1998, ravaging the region. Mukwege is said to have performed over 10,000 operations on rape victims ever since.
The other finalists were Ukraine’s pro-Western Euromaidan movement and Azerbaijani rights defender Leyla Yunus.[https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/more-on-the-sakharov-prize-and-the-arab-nominees/]
For more information on the award see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/award/sakharov-prize-freedom-thought
The 2014 prize will be awarded at a ceremony in Strasbourg on 26 November.
Congolese gynecologist wins Sakharov Prize | News | DW.DE | 21.10.2014.
for our french speakers: http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/10/21/le-docteur-mukwege-recoit-le-prix-sakharov-pour-son-soutien-aux-femmes-violees-en-rdc_4510098_3214.html
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Tags: awards, Congolese physician, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denis Mukwege, DRC, eastern congo, European Parliament, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, gang rapes, human rights award, human rights of women, rape, rape victims, Sakharov Prize, Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Strasbourg
October 17, 2014
Pamela Constable describes with passion in the Washington Post of 14 October 14 the work of the Colibri Center for Human Rights in Tucson as recipient of one of the three Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards of 2014. The other awards go to veteran international human rights lawyer Juan Mendez and Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders, a nonprofit based in Mexico City that assists women in Mexico and Central America who are involved in defending social and human rights. Juan E. Mendez, 69, is a well-known human rights defender and now U.N. special rapporteur on torture human rights official. He was born in Argentina, jailed for defending political prisoners and then exiled after an international campaign. He worked for many years for human rights NGOs, especially Human Rights Watch.
The regional awards, given by the Institute for Policy Studies, are named for the two victims of a 1976 car bombing in which former Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and his American assistant Ronni Moffitt were assassinated by agents of Chile’s military regime.
via Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards go to border activists, lawyer, Latina organizers – The Washington Post.
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Tags: awards, Chile, HRW, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, Immigration, Juan Mendez, Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards, Mesoamerican Human Rights Defenders' Initiative, Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders, Mexico, regional award, the Washington Post, UN Special Rapporteur, USA, women human rights defenders
October 16, 2014
Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
The Martin Ennals Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2015 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.The goal of the program is to extend recognition and protective publicity to those who are currently involved in frontline work involving the promotion and protection of human rights. Recent recipients include individuals and organizations from Bangladesh, China, Chechnya, Cambodia, Uganda, Syria, Iran, Uzbekistan, Burundi, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe. The award is granted annually to an individual or, in exceptional cases, an organization in recognition of their commitment and ongoing efforts in the defense and promotion of human rights. Nominees must currently be involved in work for the promotion and protection of human rights. Priority is given to those who are at risk and have demonstrated an active record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means. The program aims to encourage and promote the work of individuals or organizations, particularly if they are working in conditions hostile to fundamental human rights and are in need of protection.No posthumous awards are given except when a candidate has already passed the first round [as happened this year with Cao Shunli]. The candidate should not use or advocate violence. Anybody can nominate an individual or organization. Neither individuals nor organizations may nominate themselves. The present value of the annual award is 20,000 Swiss francs, which should be used for further work in the field of human rights. All 3 Final Nominees will be invited to the award ceremony which is hosted by the City of Geneva in late 2015.
The deadline is 9 December 2014
Program guidelines in English, French, and Spanish, FAQ, online nomination form, and information about previous recipients are available at the website: www.martinennalsaward.org
via Martin Ennals Foundation Invites Nominations for Human Rights Defenders Award | RFPs | PND.
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Tags: awards, call for nominations, Cao Shunli, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, human rights violations, Martin Ennals Award, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, MEA 2015, recognition
October 12, 2014
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.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: awards, conflict and peace, digest of human rights awards, Elisa Massimino, HRF, human rights award, Human rights defender, Human Rights First, journalists, media, monitoring, New York, reporting, Ryan Boyette, Sudan, THF
October 11, 2014
You will have learned this already from the main news media, but to bee complete in the area of human rights awards: On Friday 10 October the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 was awarded to India‘s Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan‘s Malala Yousafzai for their struggles against the violations of the rights of children. As the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said, “Children must go to school, not be financially exploited.”
Malala Yousafzai came to global attention after she was shot in the head by the Taliban — two years ago Thursday — for her efforts to promote education for girls in Pakistan. Since then, after surgery, she has won several high level human rights awards and now the Peace Prize. [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/malala-collects-another-award-sacharov-instead-of-snowden/]
Satyarthi, age 60, has shown great personal courage in heading peaceful demonstrations focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain, the committee said. Satyarthi told reporters that the award was about many more people than him — and that credit should go to all those “sacrificing their time and their lives for the cause of child rights” and fighting child slavery.
The peace aspect of the Prize is double this year: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: 2014, awards, digest of human rights awards, hindu, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, India, Kailash Satyarthi, Malala Yousafzai, Muslim, Nobel Peace Prize, Pakistan, peace prize, right to education, rights of children, THF
October 10, 2014
The ceremony of the Martin Ennals Award 2014 is over (7 October 2014). It was again very impressive to hear and see 3 courageous Human Rights Defenders being honored. Some 450 people (my estimate) gave standing ovations to the 3 nominees whose work was shown in impressive films produced for the occasion. The film portraits are already available on the website: http://www.martinennalsaward.org where there is also a short summary of the whole evening.
Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
Especially the film on Chinese HRD Cao Shunli is a masterpiece given that the film makers had almost no images to work with due to the modesty of the human rights defender as well as her untimely death in detention only 2 days after her nomination in March 2014.
The internet has buzzed with congratulations and encouragements to the other two nominees, Adilur from Bangladesh and Alejandra Ancheita from Mexico. The latter became ultimately the Laureate [see https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/10/07/breaking-news-alejandra-ancheita-is-the-2014-mea-laureate/#more-5648 ].
One of the nicest surprises was the address by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at one of his first public appearances outside the UN. 
The High Commissioner gave a moving and almost poetic description of the sorry state of affairs left to human rights defenders to correct: He said inter alia: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA, UN | 2 Comments »
Tags: Adilur Rahman Khan, Alejandra Ancheita, awards, Bangladesh, Cao Shunli, China, film, film portraits, Geneva, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, human rights films, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, MEA ceremony, Mexico, speech, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ville de Geneve, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein
October 7, 2014
The Martin Ennals Foundation just announced in Geneva – during a ceremony broadcast live on the internet – that the MEA Laureate of 2014 is Alejandra Ancheita from Mexico. She was selected by a Jury representing the broad international Human Rights movement (see below).
Alejandra Ancheita is the founding Director of ProDESC. For over 15 years she has worked with migrants, workers, and indigenous communities to protect their land and labour rights vis-a-vis transnational mining and energy companies. These disputes have included violent attacks on those she is trying to protect. She is also one of the pioneers in seeking accountability for transnational companies in Mexican courts when local communities’ rights are not taken into account. In Mexico, there is a clear pattern of attacks, threats, criminalization, and murders of human rights defenders. Ms Ancheita and ProDESC have been subjected to surveillance, a defamation campaign in the national media, and a break in at their offices. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Adilur Rahman Khan, Alejandra Ancheita, awards, Bangladesh, Cao Shunli, China, City of Geneva, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, MEA, MEA final nominee 2014, MEA laureate 2014, Mexico, Micheline Calmy Rey, ProDESC, Sandrine Salerno, woman human rights defender
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 