Posts Tagged ‘digest of human rights awards’
May 23, 2015
Whether one believes in sainthood or not, it is not difficult to rejoice with Pax Christi International about the 23 May beatification of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero who became known for his persistent search for truth, justice and reconciliation in the late seventies in conflict-torn El Salvador. He was shot dead while celebrating mass on 24 March 1980. The assassin has never been identified, but it is widely believed that the assassins were members of a death squad led by former Major Roberto D’Aubuisson. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: assassination, bishop Romero, catholic church, digest of human rights awards, El Salvador, human rights awards, Human rights defender, human rights documentation, International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Pax Christi International, sainthood, Truth, UN
May 15, 2015
Jorge Elecier Molano, a Colombian human rights Lawyer and member of DHColombia, is the winner of the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2015. He is based in Bogota and works as an independent lawyer and legal advisor to several NGOs, including ‘Sembrar’. Jorge Molano received numerous death threats in the course of his work as a lawyer and human rights defender. After the death threats in 2009 and 2010, he felt obliged to send his daughters to live abroad for security reasons. In January 2013 the Colombian State’s National Protection Unit (NPU) defined Jorge Molano’s risk level as “extraordinary,” due to several security incidents. In 2014 Jorge Molano and other members of DHColombia and Sembrar have been the victim of several aggressions including attacks on family members, raids on his home to steal information, cyber-attacks on email and website accounts, telephone interception, and illegal surveillance, among others.
Currently, Jorge Molano represents victims in some of the most emblematic human rights cases in Colombia, such as the disappearance of 11 people after the dramatic events around the hostage-taking at the Palace of Justice in Bogota on 6 and 7 November 1985, and the killing on 21 February 2005 of several members (including minors) of the Comunidad de Paz of San José de Apartado, a group of villagers who have sworn not to become involved in the conflict in Colombia. Jorge Molano also provides legal support to persons in cases where organizations and human rights defenders are spied upon by national intelligence agencies, and in cases concerning extrajudicial executions.
“The jury noted that among the nominees a shockingly large amount of lawyers are imprisoned for doing their work. In far too many countries human rights lawyers and their relatives live in constant danger. The jury found in Jorge Molano a lawyer who is standing out for his decennia long commitment to those who are not accepting the suppression by the often criminal and violent powers that be. By awarding Molano the jury wants to applaud his immense personal courage and stamina and draw attention to the largely overlooked dire human rights situation in Colombia”.
Human rights lawyers from across the world were nominated for the L4L Award. Khalil Maatouk from Syria and Pu Zhiqiang from China were the other two shortlisted lawyers. Jorge Molano will accept the award on 29 May at L4L’s seminar ‘Lawyers are not their clients’.
For more information on the award see: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/lawyers-lawyers. For L4L visit www.lawyersforlawyers.org or contact the Executive Director (+31.6 262 743 90)
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 4 Comments »
Tags: Colombia, death threats, DHColombia, digest of human rights awards, human rights award, human rights lawyer, Jorge Elecier Molano, Jorge Molano, Khalil Maatouk, L4L, Lawyers for Lawyers, lawyers for lawyers award, Pu Zhiqiang, Sembrar
April 16, 2015
On 15 April 2015 the New York based Human Rights Foundation announced that the laureates of its 2015 Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent are:
- the Sudanese nonviolent resistance movement Girifna,
- the Indonesian stand-up comedian Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, and
- the Cuban graffiti artist and activist El Sexto.
Girifna, Arabic for “we are fed up,” is a nonviolent resistance movement founded in 2010 by pro-democracy youth activists. Thousands of Girifna members work together to monitor crackdowns on protests and defend dissidents in spite of constant surveillance by the Sudanese authorities. “While the international press focuses its attention on Sudan’s history of armed conflict, Girifna has challenged the al-Bashir regime in novel ways—from producing humorous commercials to teaching citizens the art of nonviolent protest…” said jury chairman Thor Halvorssen.
Sakdiyah Ma’ruf is a stand-up comedian from Indonesia whose comic routine advocates for individual rights and challenges Islamic fundamentalism. She grew up watching U.S.-based comedians and decided to use the same medium to talk about issues plaguing her own country. Television producers have asked her to censor her jokes, but Ma’ruf, who believes comedy mirrors a culture’s hypocrisy, has refused to be silenced. “Sakdiyah Ma’ruf is marshaling the use of parody to challenge oppression and extremism—no small risk for a woman in Muslim culture. She is an inspiration,” said Amnesty International Norway Secretary General John Peder Egenæs.
El Sexto, whose real name is Danilo Maldonado, is a Cuban graffiti artist and activist whose public work has turned him into a formidable dissident, evidenced by the ongoing repression he suffers. This past December, El Sexto was arrested on his way to put on a performance art piece called “Rebelión en la Granja,” with two pigs decorated with the names “Fidel” and “Raúl.” El Sexto was charged with contempt and remains in prison awaiting trial. “Through his art, El Sexto reveals the intolerance of the Cuban regime,” said former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu.
For more information on the award see: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/václav-havel-prize-creative-dissent
The ceremony on 27 May will be broadcast live online at oslofreedomforum.com beginning at 16:00 CET; for more info contact: Jamie Hancock, (212) 246-8486, jamie@thehrf.org
2015 Havel Prize Awarded to Girifna, Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, and El Sexto | News | The Human Rights Foundation.
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | 1 Comment »
Tags: art, awards, cartoons, comedy, Cuba, Danilo Maldonado, digest of human rights awards, El Sexto, Emil Constantinescu, Girifna, human rights award, Human Rights Foundation, Indonesia, John Peder Egenæs, Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, Sudan, THF, Thor Halvorssen
February 1, 2015
The Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation is extending its call for nominations for the 2015 Award till 30 April 2015. This prize rewards an individual, a group or an organisation whose original and daring initiatives have brought people in conflict in war-torn societies towards reconciliation. For more information on the award see: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/sergio-vieira-de-mello-prize
Nominations should use the form on the website and submit it by email to info[at]sergiovdmfoundation.org, or by post : Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, 29 rue des Allobroges, 1227 Carouges, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation.
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Tags: awards, call for nominations, deadline, digest of human rights awards, human rights awards, peace, reconciliation, Sergio Vieira de Mello, Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, THF
January 21, 2015
The 2015 selection process for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award is now open. Deadline: 6 March 2015
For more information regarding the eligibility criteria, please visit the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights website.
Also the Lawyers for Lawyers Award (L4L award] is now open for nomination for the L4L Award is open.
Only those nominations submitted via the
nomination form on the website will be taken into consideration. Deadline 15 February 2015
The nomination form is available on: http://www.advocatenvooradvocaten.nl/award/ and other information is available on: http://www.advocatenvooradvocaten.nl/l4l-award/?/.
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For more information on these and other human rights awards, see the Digest of THF: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/
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Tags: awards, call for nominations, digest of human rights awards, eligibility criteria, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, L4L, Lawyers for Lawyers, RFK, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award
December 16, 2014
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(Olof Palme – Photo: TT)
The Stockholm-based Olof Palme Memorial Fund said in a statement today that the Chinese pro-democracy activist Xu Youyu, who was among key signatories of a 2008 manifesto seeking sweeping political reforms in China, has won the Olof Palme human rights prize [http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/olof-palme-prize]. Born in 1947, Xu is a philosophy professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Science and was one of the most prominent signatories of the 2008 Charter 08 manifesto that urged a series of reforms in China. He was detained in May this year in a crackdown on dissent ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“He has worked consistently for a democratisation of Chinese society, while condemning any form of violence as a political method,” the Fund stated. “Through his research and dialogue-oriented debate articles, Xu Youyu has made a great contribution to the peaceful and democratic development in China.”
http://www.thelocal.se/20141216/chinese-activist-xu-youyu-wins-swedish-rights-prize
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Tags: China, Chinese Academy of Social Science, Democracy, digest of human rights awards, human rights award, Human rights defender, illegal detention, labour movement, Olof Palme Memorial Fund, Olof Palme Prize, political reforms, Sweden, Xu Youyu
December 1, 2014
The Solomon Islands do not figure prominently in any blogs on human rights. So this is special: An exhibition highlighting the recipients of the US Department of State International Women’s Award was held last Saturday at the King Solomon Hotel, as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women Campaign, which started last Tuesday. It was organised by SEIF PLES (Gender-based Violence Crisis and Referral Centre) to mark International Women Human Rights Defenders Day (IWHRD).
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: awards, digest of human rights awards, exhibit, film, human rights of women, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, King Solomon Hotel, SEIF PLES, Solomon Islands, US International Women’s Award, Violence against women, women human rights defenders
November 28, 2014
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.
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Tags: award ceremony, ceremony, digest of human rights awards, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Netherlands, Netherlands, The Tulip Award, Tulip award
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
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 