Posts Tagged ‘Kofi Annan’

In memoriam Kofi Annan – laureate of 10 human rights awards

August 20, 2018

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan died on Saturday 18 August 2018 at the age of 80. “Kofi Annan was a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world. During his distinguished career and leadership of the United Nations, he was an ardent champion of peace, sustainable development, human rights and the rule of law,” the Kofi Annan Foundation and Annan family said in a statement. His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.

Born on April 8, 1938, in Ghana, Annan took his first job with the U.N. in 1962,and became its seventh secretary-general serving between 1997 and 2006.

It has been pointed out by many media that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with the United Nations) in 2001 but few mention the other 9 human rights awards that he received before, such as

2001   Liberty Medal

2003   Indira Gandhi Prize

2003   Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

2004   Franklin Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award

2006   Olof Palme Prize

2007   MacArthur Award for International Justice

2007   Bruno Kreisky Award

2007   North South Prize

2008   Freedom Award (refugees).

For more on these awards, see: http://trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest

The current U.N. secretary-general, António Guterres, called Annan “a guiding force for good. … In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination,” he said in a statement.

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Urgent: award-winning cartoonist Zunar under threat in Malaysia needs support

May 19, 2016
On 3 May 2016 Malaysian cartoonist Zunar was one of the winners of the international Cartooning for Peace Prize [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/cartoonists-gado-kenya-and-zunar-malaysia-get-2016-cartooning-for-peace-prize/].
Back home the backlash has started and he has asked for support:
– Malaysian ministers threaten him anew;
– a government-backed NGO is going to protest at Kofi Annan’s office.
The award was presented by ex-UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and the winners were given a chance to exhibit their artworks at Lac Léman in Geneva. Zunar’s cartoons covers issues such as corruption, freedom of expression, conspiracy against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and the new National Security law.
In reaction Deputy-Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi hinted that the police may take action on him. Ahmad Zahid added that he hopes that Zunar will repent and find other ways to express himself. “I think in this regard, I am seeking Allah to open his (Zunar) heart so that he quickly repents and uses other approaches to express opposing opinions,” he said ( http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/05/14/zahid-hopes-zunar-repents-criticise-but-dont-insult/ )

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Cartoonists Gado (Kenya) and Zunar (Malaysia) get 2016 Cartooning for Peace Prize

May 4, 2016

evenement-prix-international-presse-0

Today – in order to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day on the 3rd of May – it was announced that the 2016 International Editorial Cartoons Prize is awarded to the Kenyan caricaturist, Gado, and the Malaysian cartoonist, Lunar. Some of their cartoons are shown below:

“Gado and Zunar remind us how fragile this liberty remains in Africa and in Asia as well as in other regions of the world. Through their commitment towards open and transparent societies, Gado and Zunar, who have received threats in their countries of origin and can no longer practice their profession, confront us with our responsibility to preserve freedom of expression and act in order to support the combat of those who cannot express themselves through their art”, declared Mr Kofi Annan, he Honorary President of the Swiss Foundation.

The cartoonist Patrick Chappatte, jury member, added: “For having had the courage to draw the king naked, Gado and Zunar are faced with a power machine that seeks to silence them. What this Prize seeks to do is just the opposite: to amplify their voices, which are those of democracy and justice.”

This prize, awarded every two years in Geneva, rewards a cartoonist for his/her courage, talent and commitment to the values of peace, tolerance as well as for his/her fight for freedom of expression. The event goes with an exhibition presented along the quai Wilson in Geneva until June 4th, 2016. For more information, click here!

For 2014 event see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/cartooning-for-peace-award-handed-over-by-kofi-annan-in-geneva/

For the biographies: Gado and Zunar.

 

  • Gado (Kenya)
     Gado (Kenya)
  • Gado (Kenya)
    Gado (Kenya)
  • Gado (Kenya)
    Gado (Kenya)
  • Gado (Kenya)
     Gado (Kenya)
  • Zunar (Malaysia)
     Zunar (Malaysia)
  • Zunar (Malaysia)
    Zunar (Malaysia)
  • Zunar (Malaysia)
     Zunar (Malaysia)
  • Zunar (Malaysia)
     Zunar (Malaysia)

 

Source: Cartoonists Gado (Kenya) and Zunar (Malaysia), recipients of the 2016 Cartooning for Peace Prize – Cartooning for Peace

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Cartooning for Peace award in Euronews video clip

May 23, 2014

This clip was produced by True Heroes Films (THF) for Euronews which covered the event of the 2nd international Cartooning for Peace award. [for more on the award see http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/award/cartooning-peace-press-award].

The foundation “Cartooning for Peace” went to Syria-Palestinian Hani Abbas and Egyptian Doaa Eladl for their work. Former Secretary General Kofi Annan handed them the international award for press cartoonists in Geneva, as part of World Press Day. French cartoonist Plantu gave Euronews his views on the significance of using cartoons as a form of expression: “We’re trying to show the level of resistance that exists today, from the perspective of the very people that allow us to understand the word “resistance”, the cartoonists that ultimately become the foot soldiers of democracy. In other words, they’re railing against different powers, not just the power of their editors but also against political and religious power.” 

From Lake Geneva, euronews correspondent Wolfgang Spindler said: “Political cartoons can be subversive, provocative and amusing – they make us smile, they give us pause for thought. But we very often forget that the cartoonists behind them sometimes have to risk their lives daily for the sake of their work.”  via: http://www.euronews.com/2014/05/05/drawing-for-peace

The cartoon exhibition on the banks of Lake Geneva runs until the beginning of July and then moves to Sarajevo.

previous post: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/cartooning-for-peace-international-award-and-exhibit-in-geneva-as-from-today/

 

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Cartooning for Peace Award handed over by Kofi Annan in Geneva

May 5, 2014
3 May 2014 Cartooning for Peace award, Geneva (c) THF

3 May 2014 Cartooning for Peace award, Geneva (c) THF

In case you noticed, my post of yesterday about the Cartooning for Peace Award came a day late; sorry. The award ceremony took place on Saturday 3 May, International Day for Press Freedom. To make up for the error here are the winners (Palestinian-Syrian Hani Abbasi, and Egyptian Doaa Eladl), in company of inter alia Kofi Annan and municipal councillor Guillaume Barazzone. The exhibit remains to be visited along the Quai Wilson in Geneva until 3 July 2014. Also present were the well-known cartoonists Chappatte, Plantu et Liza Donnelly. More information and links in my post of yesterday:

https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/cartooning-for-peace-international-award-and-exhibit-in-geneva-as-from-today/

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Cartooning for Peace: international award and exhibit in Geneva as from today

May 4, 2014

affiche-geneve

Today, 3 May 2014, the Foundation Cartooning for Peace in Geneva hands out the 2nd International Prize for the best press cartoon (le Prix international du dessin de presse à Genève), followed by the exhibit  “La guerre dans tous ses états”

This recent bi-annual award, given by Foundation in cooperation with the City of Geneva, will handed over by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of Cartooning for Peace. It rewards the creator for his or her courage, talent and engagement in favour of peace and human rights.

The work of the laureates form part of an exhibit of some hundred cartoons which are displayed in big format on the Quai Wilson for one month: from 3 May to 3 June.

Logo-Cartooning-for-Peace

via: Cartooning for Peace – Exposition « La Guerre dans tous ses états » Genève, Suisse.

the catalogue on line: Catalogue d’exposition en ligne

 

 

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FIDH tells its 2013 story in cartoons and there is also Cartooning for Peace

February 10, 2014

For those who understand some French, this is an interesting page which describes the work of the International Federation for Human Rights [FIDH] in CARTOONS! La FIDH raconte son année 2013 en BD – FIDH : mouvement mondial des droits de lHomme.

More generally the power of cartoons in human rights work can be seen in Cartooning for Peace, an initiative thought up by the French cartoonist Plantu, born on 16 October 2006 at UN headquarters in New York after a two-day conference organised by Kofi Annan, the then Secretary General of the United Nations, which brought together the twelve best-known political cartoonists in the world for “unlearning intolerance”. See: http://www.cartooningforpeace.org/en

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