share information on human rights defenders, with special focus on human rights awards and laureates
This blog has always had keen interest in awards and in celebrities abusing their reputation. The current row over Tony Blair receiving an award from Save the Children USA as described by Katie Nguyen of Reuters on 26 November 2014 is exactly at the crossroads of these two interest.
To my horror I see that I missed this year’s Nansen Award. Rectified with the video clip above which was published on 1 October , 2014 by UNHCR. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, presented the Colombian women’s rights group, Butterflies with New Wings Building a Future, with the Nansen Refugee Award in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday 29 September. The courageous Colombian women’s rights network received the award for its outstanding work to help victims of forced displacement and sexual abuse in Buenaventura, Colombia.
The Nansen Refugee Award marked its 60th anniversary this year. see also: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/nansen-medal
Learn more: www.unhcr.org/nansen
(No Fire Zone – one of the winners of BRITDOC Impact Award 2014)
“Four years ago, when I was part of the first Impact Award jury, we gave a special mention to the film Burma VJ. I was struck by the bravery of the Burmese video journalists who were able to capture the striking images of the Saffron Revolution.
This year, the Impact Award is honouring No Fire Zone, which examines the closing days of the Sri Lankan civil war against the Tamil Tigers, a deeply shocking account of an assault against civilians, which premiered at the United Nations Human Rights Council and played a crucial role in the Council’s decision this year to finally order an independent review of the death of 70,000 civilians. [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/11th-human-rights-film-festival-starts-1st-march-in-geneva-with-a-bang-that-upsets-sri-lanka/]
Other films being awarded this year are: Granito, Blackfish, American Promise and The House I Live In.
Documentary Filmmakers Piece Together The Truth | Queen Noor of Jordan.
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.
(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.
Bangladesh human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan, of the human rights organisation Odhikar, has won the 2014 International Bar Association (IBA) Human Rights Award.
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
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.
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.
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 »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 