UN rights prizes awarded to Belarus group, Congo activist, nature coalition

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UN rights prizes awarded to Belarus group, Congo activist, nature coalition

10:24 CAT | 21 Jul 2023

FILE - Julienne Lusenge, one of the 2023 UN Human Rights Prize winners speaking at the General Assembly high-level dialogue on “Building Sustainable Peace for All” in 2017 [File photo: ,UN News/Manuel Elias]

The recipients of this year’s prestigious United Nations human rights prize were announced on Thursday, among them a top Belarusian rights group, a Congolese women’s rights activist and a global nature protection coalition.

“The winners’ dedication speaks to the universal nature of human rights at a critical time,” said UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi, the head of the laureate selection committee.

“The Prize sends a clear message to human rights defenders all over the world that the international community is grateful for, and supports, their efforts to promote all human rights for all.”

The 2023 winners include Viasna, Belarus’s embattled human rights organization, whose founder, the Nobel-prize winning activist Ales Bialiatski is serving a 10-year jail term.

Also recognized were Julienne Lusenge, a women’s rights activist in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Julio Pereyra, a children campaigner in Uruguay; as well as the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies in Jordan.

Finally, the prize also went to the Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment, which comprises over 1,300 organizations from 75 countries.

The awarding of the prize to the coalition is “testament to the power of collective effort and the importance of civil society in shaping a fairer, greener future,” said Elaine Geyer-Allely of the nature advocacy group WWF International.

“Together, we must now push for further constitutional and statutory recognition of the right so that it delivers tangible benefits for people and the planet,” she added.

Founded by the General Assembly in 1966 and awarded every five years, the prestigious human rights prize has in the past recognized Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Jimmy Carter, Eleanor Roosevelt and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

I have the great honor of announcing the winners of the 2023 @UN Human Rights Prize.

The Prize sends a clear message to human rights defenders all over the world that the international community is grateful for, and supports, their efforts to promote all human rights for all.… pic.twitter.com/7ltSrLgmLJ

— UN GA President (@UN_PGA) July 20, 2023