share information on human rights defenders, with special focus on human rights awards and laureates
The Human Rights Tulip award ceremony will take place on December 9, 2014, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bezuidenhoutseweg 67, the Hague, in the Netherlands. Starts at 15h45 and closes at 18h15 with a reception. The event is open to the public but on invitation only and those interested should contact the organisers first: ceremony[at]humanrightstulip.nl before 2 December. For more information on the award: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/tulip-award.
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
For a lovely 8 mn summary of the 2012 Martin Ennals Award ceremony of 2 October please go the the website: Welcome to Martin Ennals Awards – MEA.
This morning the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award for human rights Defenders (MEA) came together in Geneva to decide who will ultimately be the Laureate of the MEA 2012. I was there and know the result but it stays under wraps until approximately 18h45 Geneva time when the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will make the announcement during the ceremony which can be followed live on http://www.martinennalsaward.org as from 18h00.
Every day all over the world, unsung heroes are risking their lives to call attention to injustice and to fight for human rights. On Tuesday October 2nd, one of them will honored with the Martin Ennals Award. The Martin Ennals Award is chosen by a Jury of ten leading Human Rights organizations including: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First and others (see www.martinennalsaward.org). Thus, this prize represents the expression of the whole Human Rights movement.
The winner will be selected from three nominees, who personalize wider issues in their home countries and allow these issues to be represented through individual cases:
The ceremony is hosted by the City of Geneva in Victoria Hall. Short films commissioned by the Martin Ennals Foundation. Those who cannot attend in person may want to follow it on the internet (www.martinennalsaward.org) starting at 18h00 Geneva time.
Last Thursday, 13 October, the ceremony for Kasha, the Ugandan 2011 laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, took place in Geneva, again in the beautiful Victoria Hall. There was a large audience of 600 people. Moreover, the 2010 MEA laureate, Muhannad al-Hassani from Syria, also made a surprise appearance. The True Heroes Foundation made a 8-minute summary of highlights of the ceremony and this overview gives an excellent impression of the whole evening. Please go to our newly designed website: http://www.martinennalsaward.org.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 