Sakharov Prize

Sakharov Prize

The 2009 awarding ceremony inside the Parliament's Strasbourg hemicycle
Presented by European Parliament
Location Strasbourg
Country France
Reward €50,000[1]
First awarded 1988
Last awarded 2011
Currently held by Asmaa Mahfouz, Ahmed al-Senussi, Razan Zaitouneh, Ali Farzat, Mohamed Bouazizi
Official website Website

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought.[2] A shortlist of nominees is drawn up by the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Development Committee, with the winner announced in October.[1] As of 2010, the prize is accompanied by a monetary award of €50,000.[1]

The first prize was awarded jointly to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian Anatoly Marchenko. The most recent award, in 2011, was given to five representatives of the Arab Spring—Asmaa Mahfouz, Ahmed al-Senussi, Razan Zaitouneh, Ali Farzat, and Mohamed Bouazizi—for their contributions to "historic changes in the Arab world".[3] The prize has also been awarded to different organisations throughout its history, the first being the Argentine Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (1992).

The Sakharov Prize is usually awarded annually on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations General Assembly ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948,[4] also celebrated as Human Rights Day.[5]

Recipients

Year Recipient Nationality Notes Reference
1988 Mandela, NelsonNelson Mandela South Africa Anti-apartheid activist and later President of South Africa [6]
1988 Marchenko, AnatolyAnatoly Marchenko (posthumously) Soviet Union Soviet dissident, author and humans rights activist [6]
1989 Dubček, AlexanderAlexander Dubček Czechoslovakia Slovak politician, attempted to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring [6]
1990 Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar Opposition politician and a former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy [7]
1991 Demaçi, AdemAdem Demaçi Kosovo Politician and long-term political prisoner [6]
1992 Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Argentina Association of Argentine mothers whose children disappeared during the Dirty War [7]
1993 Oslobođenje Bosnia and Herzegovina Popular newspaper, continued to publish after its office building was destroyed in Sarajevo [7]
1994 Nasrin, TaslimaTaslima Nasrin Bangladesh Ex-doctor, feminist author [7]
1995 Zana, LeylaLeyla Zana Turkey A female politician of Kurdish descent from Eastern Turkey, who was imprisoned for 10 years for speaking her native language of Kurdish in the Turkish Parliament [6]
1996 Jingsheng, WeiWei Jingsheng People's Republic of China An activist in the Chinese democracy movement [7]
1997 Ghezali, SalimaSalima Ghezali Algeria Journalist and writer, an activist of women's rights, human rights and democracy in Algeria [7]
1998 Rugova, IbrahimIbrahim Rugova Kosovo Albanian politician, the first President of Kosovo [6]
1999 Gusmão, XananaXanana Gusmão East Timor Former militant who was the first President of East Timor [8]
2000 ¡Basta Ya! Spain Organisation uniting individuals of various political positions against terrorism [9]
2001 Peled-Elhanan, NuritNurit Peled-Elhanan Israel Peace activist [6]
2001 Ghazzawi, IzzatIzzat Ghazzawi Palestine Writer, arrested several times by Israeli authorities for "political activities" [6]
2001 Kamwenho, Dom ZacariasDom Zacarias Kamwenho Angola Archbishop and peace activist [6]
2002 Payá, OswaldoOswaldo Payá Cuba Political activist and dissident [10]
2003 Annan, KofiKofi Annan (& United Nations) — Nobel Peace Prize recipient and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations [6]
2004 Belarusian Association of Journalists Belarus Non-governmental organisation "aiming to ensure freedom of speech and rights of receiving and distributing information and promoting professional standards of journalism" [11]
2005 Ladies in White Cuba Opposition movement, relatives of jailed dissidents [12]
2005 Reporters Without Borders — France-based non-governmental organisation advocating freedom of the press [12]
2005 Ibrahim, HauwaHauwa Ibrahim Nigeria Human rights lawyer [12]
2006 Milinkievič, AlaksandarAlaksandar Milinkievič Belarus Politician chosen by United Democratic Forces of Belarus as the joint candidate of the opposition in the presidential elections of 2006 [13]
2007 Mahmoud Osman, SalihSalih Mahmoud Osman Sudan Human rights lawyer [7]
2008 Jia, HuHu Jia People's Republic of China Activist and dissident [14]
2009 Memorial Russia International civil rights and historical society [15]
2010 Fariñas, GuillermoGuillermo Fariñas Cuba Doctor, journalist and political dissident [16]
2011 Asmaa Mahfouz,
Ahmed al-Senussi,
Razan Zaitouneh,
Ali Farzat,
Mohamed Bouazizi (posthumously)		 Egypt
Libya
Syria
Syria
Tunisia		 Five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights. [3]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Speech". European Parliament. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sakharov/default_en.htm. Retrieved 23 October 2010. 
  2. ^ "1986: Sakharov comes in from the cold". BBC News. 23 December 1986. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/23/newsid_2540000/2540121.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2011". European Parliament. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/en/headlines/content/20111014FCS29297/1/html/Three-finalists-for-Sakharov-Prize-2011-honouring-human-rights-activists. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  4. ^ "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights". United Nations. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml. Retrieved 25 October 2010. 
  5. ^ "Human Rights Day". United Nations. 25 October 2010. http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/humanrights/. Retrieved 25 October 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "20 years of the Sakharov Prize: Human rights and reconciliation". European Parliament. 28 October 2008. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&type=IM-PRESS&reference=20081027STO40639. Retrieved 22 October 2010. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Sakharov Network calls for immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Sakharov Prize laureate 1990". Reporters Without Borders. 15 May 2009. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,COUNTRYNEWS,RSF,MMR,4a110b891e,0.html. Retrieved 23 October 2010. 
  8. ^ "Gusmão receives EU Sakharov prize". BBC News. 15 December 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/566530.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  9. ^ "Basque group wins peace prize". BBC News. 26 October 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/993409.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  10. ^ "Cuban dissident collects EU prize". BBC News. 17 December 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2583201.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  11. ^ "Europeans Honor Belarusian Association of Journalists". United States Department of State. 9 November 2004. http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2004/November/20041109154049XLrenneF0.3785822.html. Retrieved 22 October 2010. 
  12. ^ a b c Gibbs, Stephen (14 December 2005). "Cuba 'bars women from prize trip'". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4527018.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  13. ^ "Belarussian takes EU rights award". BBC News. 26 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6087198.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  14. ^ "China dissident wins rights prize". BBC News. 17 December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7788536.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  15. ^ "Russia rights group wins EU prize". BBC News. 22 October 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8320851.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  16. ^ "Cuba dissident Farinas awarded Sakharov Prize by EU". BBC News. 21 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11594804. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 

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