16/01/2017 Prizes
Strasbourg, 16.01.2017 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in partnership with the Vaclav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation, has today issued a call for nominations for the 2017 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
The Prize, created in 2013, aims to reward outstanding civil society action in defending human rights in Europe and beyond. Candidates should have made a real difference to the human rights situation of a given group, been instrumental in uncovering large scale systemic violations, or have successfully mobilised public opinion or the international community for a cause.
“The protection of human rights is an eternal combat, in which human rights defenders will always strive to advance despite hardship and obstacles in their path. Their daily efforts and commitment to the common good deserve respect and recognition,” said PACE President Agramunt.
The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which will be awarded on 9 October 2017 in Strasbourg, consists of a sum of €60,000, a trophy and a diploma.
It was awarded successively to Ales Bialiatski (Belarus), Anar Mammadli (Azerbaijan), Ludmilla Alexeeva. (Russian Federation), and last year to human rights activist Nadia Murad (Iraq), who has brought the plight of the Yazidi community, in particular the forced sexual enslavement and human trafficking of women and children captured by ISIS, to the forefront of international attention.
The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 April 2017. Nominations should be sent to the Parliamentary Assembly by e-mail to the following address: [email protected], using the form available on the Prize website. They should be signed by at least five sponsors and submitted in either English or French.
Václav Havel Human Rights Prize website
Promotional video
For further information, please contact:
- PACE: Angela Garabagiu, tel. +33 3 90 21 45 20, [email protected]
- Václav Havel Library: Radka Prošková, tel. +420 222 220 112, [email protected]
- Charta 77 Foundation: Julie Ruzickova, tel. +420 702 001 962, [email protected]