UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education
Encyclopedia
The UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights, created in 1978 as the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
, serves to honour the efforts of organizations or individuals that have made an exemplary contribution to the advancement of knowledge on human rights
and building a universal culture of human rights.
It was renamed on 5 May 2008 under the terms of a memorandum of understanding with Mayor of Bilbao Iñaki Azkuna
whereby the municipality of Bilbao
agreed to fund the prize for a period of three years.
The prize winner and the other candidates selected for honourable mention are chosen by the UNESCO
Director General from a short-list chosen by an international jury composed of six public figures representing the different regions of the world.
Now awarded every second year, the prize is worth US$25,000 and is accompanied by a trophy created by Japan
ese artist Toshimi Ishii. Winners are announced on 10 December, United Nations
Human Rights Day
.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
, serves to honour the efforts of organizations or individuals that have made an exemplary contribution to the advancement of knowledge on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and building a universal culture of human rights.
It was renamed on 5 May 2008 under the terms of a memorandum of understanding with Mayor of Bilbao Iñaki Azkuna
Iñaki Azkuna
Iñaki Azkuna Urreta is a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party. He is the present mayor of the city of Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country.-References:...
whereby the municipality of Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
agreed to fund the prize for a period of three years.
The prize winner and the other candidates selected for honourable mention are chosen by the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Director General from a short-list chosen by an international jury composed of six public figures representing the different regions of the world.
Now awarded every second year, the prize is worth US$25,000 and is accompanied by a trophy created by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artist Toshimi Ishii. Winners are announced on 10 December, United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United NationsGeneral Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights...
.
Past winners
- 2010:http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/events/prizes-and-celebrations/unesco-prizes/unescobilbao-prize/2010-edition/ Asma JahangirAsma JahangirAsma Jilani Jahangir is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation...
, Pakistan.
- Honourable mentions: Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi, Chile; Fundación Cultura de Paz, Spain; France terre d’asile & Fédération internationale Musique Espérance, France
- 2008:http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12541&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Stéphane HesselStéphane HesselStéphane Frédéric Hessel is a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, former French Resistance fighter and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939...
, France.
- 2008:http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12541&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Stéphane Hessel
- Honourable mention: ATD Fourth World, France.
- 2006:http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=10445&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Centre for Human RightsCentre for Human RightsThe University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908 and consists of five academic departments, six centers, a law clinic and it's own publisher the Pretoria University Law Press...
, University of PretoriaUniversity of PretoriaThe University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
, South Africa.
- 2006:http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=10445&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Centre for Human Rights
- Honourable mentions: European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation, European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and DemocratisationEuropean Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and DemocratisationThe European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation is an interdisciplinary centre covering the area of human rights education and research formed by 41 universities from all European Union member states...
, Venice, Italy; One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic.- 2004:http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6997&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Professor Vitit MuntarbhornVitit MuntarbhornVitit Muntarbhorn is an international human rights expert and professor of law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.Muntarbhorn, born in November 1952, was educated at Oxford and Brussels, and was called to the Bar in England before going on to lecture in law at various universities in...
, Chulalongkorn UniversityChulalongkorn UniversityChulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...
, Bangkok, Thailand; United Nations Special Rapporteur.
- 2004:http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6997&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn
- Honourable mentions: Anatoly Azarov, Russian Federation; David Jan McQuoid-Mason, South Africa; Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Norway; Peruvian Institute of Education in Human Rights and Peace, Peru.
- 2002:http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-92e.shtml Academia Mexicana de Derechos HumanosAcademia Mexicana de Derechos HumanosAcademia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos is a Mexican non-profit human rights non-governmental organization founded in 1984. As of 2006, its president is Gloria Ramírez.It was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education in 2002....
, Mexico City, Mexico.
- 2002:http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-92e.shtml Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos
- Honourable mentions: Institut des droits de l'homme et de promotion de la démocratie (IDH), Benin; Ionna Kuçuradi, Hacettepe UniversityHacettepe UniversityHacettepe University is a major state university in Ankara, Turkey.The University has two main campuses. The first is located in the old town of Ankara and hosts the Medical Centre, and the second is the Beytepe Campus, which is 13 km from the city centre...
, Ankara, Turkey; Nyameko Barney Pityana, President of South Africa's Human Rights CommissionHuman rights commissionA Human Rights Commission is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as national human rights institutions or truth and reconciliation commissions.-International Human Rights...
.- 2000:http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2000/00-136e.shtml City of NurembergNurembergNuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
- 2000:http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2000/00-136e.shtml City of Nuremberg
- Honourable mentions: Flor Alba Romero, Colombia; Associated Schools Project, Pakistan; Hurights Osaka, Japan.
- 1998:http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/98-273e.htm Justice Michael Kirby, High CourtHigh Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, Australia.
- 1998:http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/98-273e.htm Justice Michael Kirby, High Court
- Honourable mentions: Jaime Castillo VelascoJaime Castillo VelascoJaime Castillo Velasco was a Chilean politician who served as president and vice-president of the Christian Democrat Party on several occasions....
, Chile; Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian LawRaoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian LawThe Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is an independent academic institution of Lund University established in 1986 after monumental humanitarian work of Raoul Wallenberg...
, Sweden.- 1996:http://www.unesco.org/op/eng/unescopress/97-02e.htm Former PresidentPresident of HaitiThe President of the Republic of Haiti is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government headed by the Prime Minister of Haiti...
Jean Bertrand Aristide, Republic of Haiti.
- 1996:http://www.unesco.org/op/eng/unescopress/97-02e.htm Former President
- Honourable mention: Gloria RamírezGloria RamirezGloria Ramirez was a Riverside, California, woman dubbed "the toxic lady" by the media when several Riverside General Hospital workers became ill after exposure to her body and blood...
, Academia Mexicana de Derechos HumanosAcademia Mexicana de Derechos HumanosAcademia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos is a Mexican non-profit human rights non-governmental organization founded in 1984. As of 2006, its president is Gloria Ramírez.It was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education in 2002....
, Mexico.- 1994: José Zalaquett Daher of Chile, and the Philippine Commission of Human Rights.
- 1992: Arab Institute of Human Rights, Tunis, Tunisia.
- 1990: Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, Czech Republic. - 1988: Asamblea Permanente de los Derechos Humanos, Bolivia.
- 1986: Héctor Fix Zamudio, Mexico.
- 1983: Felix ErmacoraFelix ErmacoraFelix Ermacora was the leading human rights expert of Austria and a member of the Austrian People's Party...
, Austria. - 1981: Ali Sadek Abou-HeifAli Sadek Abou-HeifAli Sadek Abou-Heif is an Egyptian human rights scholar, described as one of the leading specialists in international public law and human rights in Egypt and more generally in the Arab world. He was Professor of International Public Law at the University of Alexandria. He was awarded the UNESCO...
, Egypt. - 1979: Paul Morren, Belgium.
- 1978: Mümtaz SoysalMümtaz SoysalMümtaz Soysal is a Turkish politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in 1994. He was a member of the Social Democratic People's Party . He is the founder and the leader of the Turkish Independent Republican Party since 2004. He married Sevgi Soysal.-References:* Who is Who...
, Turkey.
External links
- Prize for Human Rights Education (unesco.org)