PRESS RELEASEGeneva, 28 March, 2003COLOMBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER RECEIVES MARTIN ENNALS AWARD IN GENEVA
Alirio Uribe Muñoz, of the Colectivo Jose Alvear Restrepo (Colombia), will receive the 2003 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders at a ceremony on Monday 31 March 2003 in Geneva, at 13.00 in the studio of TSR. The ceremony is, for the first time, broadcast live as a Special Zig-Zag Café, with the participation of the famous singer Barbara Hendricks and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, who will hand over the award. The award is a clear message of recognition and hope for all the human rights defenders, who - like Alirio - risk their lives every day in denouncing grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law and by fighting against impunity that is rampant in their country. The work of human rights defenders is indispensable in the light of massive violations of human rights in Colombia: in 2001 alone, there were 3366 political killings, 775 cases of disappearances and over 300.000 forced displacements, while the situation during 2003 continued to deteriorate. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique collaboration among the leading non-governmental human rights organizations as the Jury is composed of: Amnesty International, Defence for Children, German Diakonia, Human Rights Watch, HURIDOCS, International Alert, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights, International Service for Human Rights and World Organisation Against Torture, where also the secretariat of the MEA is based. The MEA, created in 1993, is granted annually to an individual or an organization who has displayed exceptional courage in combating human rights violations. The award of CHF 20.000 is for further human rights work. The previous 9 recipients of the MEA are: Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad (2002); Peace Brigades International (2001); Immaculée Birhaheka, DRC (2000); Natasha Kandic, Yugoslavia (1999); Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine (1998); Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Mexico (1997); Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria (1996); Asma Jahangir, Pakistan (1995); Harry Wu, China (1994). Martin Ennals (1927-1991) was instrumental to the modern human rights movement. A fiercely devoted activist, he creatively pursued ideas ahead of his time as the first Secretary-General of Amnesty International and the driving force behind many other organisations. His deep desire was to see more cooperation and solidarity among NGOs: the MEA is evidence that this is possible. Just before the ceremony, on Monday 31 March, the laureate will meet the press in the library of the press association of the Palais des Nations, from 10.00 - 11.00. For further interviews and other media issues, please contact Laura Fähndrich tel +41 78 637 55 04; otherwise the Secretariat of the Martin Ennals Foundation, c/o OMCT, PO Box CH - 1211 Geneva 8. Tel + 41 22 809 49 25 / 49 38, fax +41 22 809 49 29, e-mail info@martinennalsaward.org Website: http://www.martinennalsaward.org. |
