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Call for nominations for the 2015 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

January 15, 2015

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has today issued a call for nominations for the 2015 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which will be awarded for the third consecutive year on 28 September next in Strasbourg.

The Prize 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 systemic violations on a large scale, or have successfully mobilised public opinion or the international community for a given cause.

“Today, human rights are under attack on many fronts and those who defend them – sometimes at risk to their lives or livelihoods – deserve our full support. This prize is in honour of all those who stand up for human dignity and fundamental freedoms, speak out against the abuse of democratic standards, and spare no effort to help those whose rights are violated,” said PACE President Anne Brasseur.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, consisting of a sum of €60,000, a trophy and a diploma, is awarded annually by the Parliamentary Assembly, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation.

The first Prize was awarded to Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski in September 2013. Last year’s prize went to imprisoned Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli.

The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 April 2015.

Nominations should be sent to the Parliamentary Assembly by e-mail to the following address: hrprize.pace@coe.int, using the form available on the Prize website. They should be signed by at least five sponsors.

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