Posts Tagged ‘digest of human rights awards and laureates’

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Yury Dmitriev wins 2021 Sakharov Freedom Award

May 21, 2021

Thomas Nilsen in the Barents Observer of 21 May reports that The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has given its 2021 award, the Sakharov Freedom prize, to Russian dissident Yury Dmitriev. for more on this award and its laureates, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/DC70DA62-BCB5-497A-A145-79D1F865FC11

Dmitriev is well known for his research and campaigns to create a memorial to the victims of Soviet terror in the Republic of Karelia, a northwestern province near Russia’s border to Finland. see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/303c010f-033a-45b1-9d25-ed42d99b1da9

“Yuri Dmitriev has returned the human value back to the Russian state. He confronts the past and gives a new vision for the future, which today’s regime does not have,” says Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Geir Hønneland, to the Barents Observer.

Explaining the reason behind the award, Hønneland says it is not only about Dmitriev as a historian. “His work has already inspired thousands of young and old people, who want to find their dearest in the darkest graves. It is about hope and common identity.”

Millions were killed during Soviet terror, but the victims of these atrocities and their living relatives have never been given real justice. This was what Yury Dmitriev was working on. In the forests of Karelia, tens of thousands of people were shot and killed without trial or conviction and buried in mass graves.

Dmitriev is currently serving a 13 years prison sentence and is considered a political prisoner by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and other leading human rights organizations. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/10/01/dunja-mijatovic-calls-on-russia-to-end-judicial-harassment-of-human-rights-defenders/

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/democracy-and-media/2021/05/jailed-russian-historian-receives-sakharov-freedom-award

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MEA laureate Yu Wensheng finally allowed family ‘visit’

May 17, 2021

Jailed Chinese Lawyers Get Mother's Day Visit, Video Call

Two Chinese human rights lawyers serving jail sentences for “inciting subversion of state power,” Yu Wensheng (L) and Qin Yongpei (R), were permitted limited visits with their families, May 10, 2021. Yu Wensheng/Qin Yongpei

Jailed Chinese rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, who was held incommunicado for three years and sentenced to jail for “incitement to subvert state power,” was allowed a visit from relatives at the weekend, his wife said. Yu’s young son was allowed to visit his father in Nanjing Prison on May 9, along with his mother Xu Yan, Xu told RFA.

The couple’s son spoke with Yu by phone from behind a glass partition during the half-hour visit, Xu said.

“Yu Wensheng had a very good chat with our son,” she said. “Both them were laughing a lot, and there was no sense of strangeness.”


“Our son told his father that he missed him, and Yu was happy to hear that,” she said. “Yu told him that he had wanted to spend more time with him … and apologized for not being there longer than three years.”

The reunion was the first face-to-face meeting in more than three years, with the authorities blaming the coronavirus pandemic for the repeated cancellation of family visits.
Yu Wensheng was the MEA laureate of this year: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/69fc7057-b583-40c3-b6fa-b8603531248e

See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/12/05/what-kind-of-lawyers-will-attend-the-global-lawyers-forum-in-guangzhou-on-human-rights-day/

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/lawyers-visits-05112021084728.html

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Viasna staff win People in Need’s Homo Homini Award 2021

May 12, 2021

On 11 May 2021 Czech Radio announced that the annual One World festival of human rights documentary films got underway on Monday evening under the motto Connection Lost. The festival, which has moved entirely online due to Covid-19 restrictions, started by presenting its annual Homo Homini prize for human rights advocacy.

During the virtual opening ceremony on Monday evening, the People in Need foundation presented this year’s Homo Homini prize to four members of the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna, who have been persecuted for tracking detained protestors, documenting human rights violations and helping victims of police violence.

Despite having committed no crime, they were detained and face up to 12 years in prison. Prague mayor Zdeněk Hřib presented the award to Nathalia Satsunkevich, their colleague from Viasna. Zdeněk Hřib, Nathalia Satsunkevich. See: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/7b5ccf60-bf81-11ea-b6a7-3533a3c74ec1

For the first time in the 25-year history of Homo Homini Award, it was presented to the same organization. People in Need director Šimon Pánek explained the decision to Czech Television: “15 years ago Ales Bialatski, founder of Viasna, received the Homo Homini Award. He saw what was happening at the time and put together a group of people to defend the rights of detainees. In the end, he himself ended up in prison.

“He was presented the award by Václav Havel, who said he hoped Belarus would live to see its 1989, but unfortunately, it hasn’t happened yet.

“For a while it looked as if Belarus has resigned, but the new generation of young people have not accepted the situation and despite the brutality of the regime, they have repeatedly taken to the streets.”

The festival was launched with the screening of the Belarusian documentary film Courage, about an underground theatre group The Belarus Free Theatre, which has been criticising the practices of Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime for the past 14 years. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/04/12/havel-prize-for-creative-dissent-2018-two-of-three-winners-announced-today/

The festival, which runs until May 19, will present over a hundred films in 15 thematic categories, the main one focusing on technology and its impact both on the society and individuals. Some of the screenings will also be accompanied by live discussions as part of the One World Live Programme.

https://english.radio.cz/detained-belarussian-activists-win-people-needs-homo-homini-award-8717241

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Sonita Alizadeh, Afghan-born rapper, receives 2021 Normandy Freedom Prize

April 29, 2021

The Normandy Freedom Prize invites young people aged 15 to 25 in France and around the world, to reward each year a person or an organization engaged in an exemplary fight in favour of freedom. The online vote open to 15-25 year olds around the world to elect the 2021 Freedom Prize closed on April 26. Sonita Alizadeh, 25 years old, rapper born in Afghanistan, was named the laureate of this third edition of the Freedom Prize thanks to the votes of more than 5,000 young people from all over the world. For more on this award and its laureates see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/fef9ddd0-5b73-11e9-aba0-2ddd74eff7fa

Sonita Alizadeh is a rapper who was born in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. At the age of 9, her parents planned to sell her as a bride but because of the war, her family fled to Iran and the planned marriage fell through. In Teheran, an NGO provided her with access to education and a cleaning job. When Sonita stumbled upon a song by the rapper Eminem, it is a real breakthrough. She began writing to tell her story and to speak out against forced marriage and the plight of millions of children around the world. Her first single, “Brides for Sale” garnered worldwide attention. Having moved to the United States, she now studies law to become a lawyer and to return to her country to defend Afghan women and children.
 

The reaction of Nadia Khiari alias Willis from Tunis, president of the international jury for the Freedom Prize 2021

“I am proud to accompany the youth jury for the Prix Liberté. It is essential to sensitize the young generation to the defense of freedoms whatever they may be and to involve them in the construction of equality and the rights of every woman and man in the world. This requires awareness and teaching of what is happening elsewhere but also in France. Young people need to be heard because they are just like adults, victims of suffering and indifference.”

https://normandiepourlapaix.fr/en/actualites/sonita-alizadeh-laureate-2021-freedom-prize

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Maria Ressa of the Philippines winner of UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2021

April 28, 2021

UNESCOA screenshot of Maria Ressa during a UNESCO online dialogue on press freedom in 2020.

On 28 April 2021 UNESCO named investigative journalist and media executive Maria Ressa of the Philippines as the recipient of its 2021 press freedom award. For more on this and other UNESCO awards, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/8F8DB978-CD89-4CFB-1C26-D5FEE5D54855

For over three decades, Ms. Ressa has been involved in many initiatives to promote press freedom and currently manages the online outlet, Rappler. Her work however, also made her a target for attacks and abuse, UNESCO – the UN agency tasked with defending press freedom – said in a news release.

Ms. Ressa was chosen for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize following the recommendation of an international jury of media professionals.

“Maria Ressa’s unerring fight for freedom of expression is an example for many journalists around the world. Her case is emblematic of global trends that represent a real threat to press freedom, and therefore to democracy”, Marilu Mastrogiovanni, Chair of the Prize’s international jury and an investigative journalist from Italy, said.

The award ceremony will take place on 2 May in Windhoek, Namibia, during the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference. It will be streamed online.

Hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Namibia, the 2021 World Press Freedom Day Global Conference will be held from 29 April to 3 May under the theme of information as a public good, and will focus on topics such as transparency of online platforms and the importance of media and information literacy.

The conference will also tackle ways to promote and support independent media struggling to survive a crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when national and local media everywhere face financial instability and other pressures threatening their survival and their journalists’ jobs. 

https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1090792

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Loujain Al-Hathloul wins Europe’s Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize

April 20, 2021

The Council of Europe has given its annual human rights award to the Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul who was released last month after nearly three years in prison

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Monday 19 April 2021 awarded its human rights prize to Loujain Al-Hathloul who is the recipient of several awards, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/1a6d84c0-b494-11ea-b00d-9db077762c6c

For more on the Vaclac Havel Human Rights prize and its laureates see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/7A8B4A4A-0521-AA58-2BF0-DD1B71A25C8D.

https://www.dw.com/en/loujain-al-hathloul-wins-vaclav-havel-human-rights-prize/a-57248168

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New award for ‘forgotten’ heroes of the international human rights movement

April 20, 2021

As can be seen from THF’s  Digest of Human Rights Laureates [https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest] there is a small number of important individuals which do not appear in the Digest for the simple reason that they did not get an award while they were still alive. One explanation is that these leaders of the early days operated in the time that awards were less numerous (most awards were after all created after 2000).

In order to rectify this a group of individuals has created a Life-time Human Rights Achievement Award, which is an honorary, posthumous award for individuals who have greatly contributed to the international protection of human rights defenders but have been ‘forgotten’ by other awards. Attributed in exceptional cases.

The first 6 laureates are: Werner Lottje, Niall MacDermot, Hansa Mehta, Bertha Lutz, Minerva Bernardino and Charles Malik. This selection is an indication of what the “Ad Hoc Committee for recognition of forgotten human rights heroes” considers lifetime achievements. See: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/3816a904-e225-4c74-a5da-136507ba27a2

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https://hrheroesrecognition.org/

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Call for Nominations Martin Ennals Award 2022 with a focus on digital rights

April 15, 2021

On 13 April 2021 the Martin Ennals Foundation opened it call for nominations for the 2020 award. For more on the award see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/043F9D13-640A-412C-90E8-99952CA56DCE

More than 60 defenders from 34 countries have been recognized by the Martin Ennals Award to this day.  For last year see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2021/01/18/%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8Bmartin-ennals-award-finalists-2021-announced/

Focus on Digital rights in 2022

A human rights lens is urgently needed so that the opportunities of digital technology reach all of humanity and solutions can be found for risks online. Human rights Defenders are at the forefront of ensuring digital technology is inclusive, respectful of human rights and employed for human betterment. To offer our support to them and keep the spotlight on these issues, the Martin Ennals Award 2022 will reserve one of its three prizes for defenders working at the intersection of human rights and digital technology.  

The deadline for nominations is: 30 May 2021. The independent Jury composed of 10 major NGOs will select three Finalists to the Award, who will be announced publicly in early 2022. The Laureate of the Award will be announced in the first semester of 2022. 

Read the Nominations FAQ here to learn more about the nominations process. 

The Martin Ennals Award 2022 Call for Nominations is open!

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Human rights lawyer I.A. Rehman passes away in Lahore

April 12, 2021

In Dawn.com of 12 April, 2021 it is reported that Dawn columnist and human rights advocate I.A. Rehman passed away in Lahore on Monday at the age of 90.

See: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/F99462B1-2F8B-DFA2-A10E-7D0319CD0706

He was a founding member of the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy. As director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), he contributed to raising awareness about rights and fundamental freedoms. Rehman started working at a young age, according to human rights activist and former chairperson of the HRCP Zohra Yusuf. She said that Rehman worked as editor of the Pakistan Times before joining the HRCP in the early 90s, first as director and later as secretary general.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari also expressed her condolences, saying Rehman was a “unique personality … who stood by & struggled steadfastly for what he believed in“.

“He was an icon of integrity, standing steadfast for every single fundamental right, every single democratic value in the worst of times. Pakistan will not be the same without him,” PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said.

In a statement, the HRCP called Rehman a “titan of human rights” and said that his “conscience and compassion were unparalleled“. “Even after his retirement from the HRCP, he remained a constant source of wisdom and advice, and a mentor to many. We will carry his legacy forward as he would have wished us to” .

Journalist Syed Talat Hussain said Rehman was to journalism what “constitutions are to civilised countries”. “Every time we needed guidance we looked him up and he showed us the way. A beautiful soul, a great man,” he said.

Journalist Asad Hashim said Rehman was one of Pakistan’s “foremost human rights defenders and a key part of all of the incredible work that the HRCP does”. “A tremendous loss for all Pakistanis, not just progressives and those who work in the human rights space,” he said.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1617819

https://thewire.in/south-asia/pakistan-human-rights-advocate-i-a-rehman-passes-away

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2021 Arthur Svensson Prize to Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions

April 11, 2021
Workers taking part in solidarity rallies. Minsk, 14 August 2020. Photo: АВ / Vot Tak TV / Belsat

Belsat.eu of 9 April 2021 reports that the 2021 Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights has been awarded to the independent trade union movement in Belarus, represented by the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) and its affiliates. for ‘their fearless struggle for democracy and fundamental trade union rights in Europe’s last dictatorship’.

For more on this prize see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/5c06a870-6053-11e9-aa6c-87381bf77969

“Belarus is considered one of the worst countries in the world for violating workers’ rights. Human rights organizations have for many years expressed deep concern about the human rights violations in the country; «disappearances», police violence and lack of freedom of expression and association. Despite the Lukashenka regime’s attempts to take control of the independent unions and complicate recruitment, organizing and regular trade union activity, they have never given up and have continued to work for its members,” the awarding committee says.

According to them,the independent trade union movement became central early in the fight against the falsification of the election result and the fight for democracy when the situation in the country significantly deteriorated in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

https://belsat.eu/en/news/09-04-2021-belarus-independent-trade-union-movement-becomes-2021-arthur-svensson-prize-awardee/

svenssonstiftelsen.com

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