The Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk
Nominees for Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk 2008
The Front Line Award for Human rights Defenders at Risk, was established to highlight the work of outstanding individuals who on a daily basis put their security and lives at risk defending the lives of others.
On 10 April Front Line was joined in the Royal College of Physicians by Irish parliamentarians, Simon Coveney TD, Mary O'Rourke TD, Ciaran Cuffe TD and Roisin Shortall TD to announce the nominees for the Front Line Award 2008 and to pay tribute to the work of five such brave individuals.
“Human rights defenders are people who make extra-ordinary sacrifices, often putting their lives at risk. they are usually either on the move or on the run and they are the people who change society - that is why they need and deserve our support and why Front Line is so pleased to welcome this cross party support for human rights defenders today” said Mary Lawlor, Director of Front Line
The nominees for this year's award are:
Latifah Anum Sirega, Indonesia defends the rights of the indigenous people of Papua who have been marginalised, impoverished and discriminated against in their own country. She has been threatened and attempts have bee made to kidnap her.
Anwar al-Bunni, Syria a human rights lawyer who defends the rights of others through the courts and has as a result been imprisoned and tortured.
Liu Jie , China has been sentenced to reeducation through labour for defending the rights of ordinary people which exist on paper but which are systematically abused in practice.
Valdecy dos Santos , Brazil is currently living in hiding because his work to protect the Amazon and uphold the rights of small farmers against the claims of commercial companies puts his life at risk.
Padre Andres Tamayo, Honduras has a price of €40,000 on his head because his campaign against illegal logging in the rain forests of Honduras challenges the economic interests of powerful people
Full Biographies of Nominees for Front Line Award 2008
Profile of last year's winner Gégé Katana
View photo's from the 2007 Front Line Award Ceremony
Information about past Front Line Award Winners
The annual Front Line Award was established in 2004 to honour the work of an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the protection of Human Rights in the face of considerable personal risk. It is intended that the Front Line Award and the profile gained by the nominees and the winners will contribute to their security and protection. It is also an opportunity to highlight the important and courageous work of human rights defenders around the world.
Nominations
Front Line Award nominations are open until 31st December and should be sent to awardnominations@frontlinedefenders.org. Nominations should give details of the human rights defender's work, the risks or negative consequences experienced as a result of this work, why you think he/she should receive the award and how he/she might benefit from it. Nominations must be supported by two referees who can attest to the nominees work, their integrity and their commitment to non-violent means.
Individual nominees may not be a leading member of a political party and must be currently active in human rights work (the Front Line Award is not intended to recognise a historical or posthumous contribution.) Self nomination is not permitted.
Each January, Front Line drafts a shortlist of five nominees for final selection by a jury of Irish elected representatives. The Award is presented at a ceremony in Dublin in May.
The Front Line Award includes a €10,000 donation to the work of the human rights defender as well as a €5,000 personal honorarium.