More than a dozen candidates, both individuals and organisations furthering human rights and dialogue between cultures, were put forward for the annual Polish Prize of Sérgio Vieira de Mello.
Photo courtesy of Villa Decius Association
The winner in the Non-Governmental Organisation category is Familias Unidas por Nuestros Desaparecidos en Jalisco (FUNDEJ), a human rights group in Mexico that helps find missing persons.
The Villa Decius Association, which established the annual award in 2003, said in a statement that the group "and the individuals who make up this organisation are symbols of indomitable resistance."
It added: "In response to the repression that saw hundreds of young people disappear at the hands of civilian officials of the state, these courageous women not only transcended violence and intimidation, but also became tireless defenders of justice."
The award organizers also said that "FUNDEJ's work helps move the world step by step towards a place of peace and human rights. It builds a sense of unity, empathy and strength, and this is the basis of any community, which we all need so much. Women are changing the world and FUNDEJ is a prime example of this.”
The Honorary Prize went to Poczobut, who was earlier this year sentenced in Belarus to eight years in “a maximum security penal colony” in what was widely seen as a politically motivated case.
Andrzej Poczobut. Photo: PAP/Jakub Kamiński
Paweł Radomski, director of the UN and human rights department at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: "I have no hesitation in calling Andrzej Poczobut's attitude heroic. He was given the opportunity to regain his freedom from prison in return for asking the dictator for clemency but declined it on three occasions. He made an enormous sacrifice for this, as he stated in a letter to his wife Oksana: 'We do not choose the times in which to live, but we choose how to live in these times."
Radomski added: "I would like to express my gratitude to the Chapter of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Prize for awarding an honorary prize to Mr. Andrzej Poczobut. This decision is not only an appreciation of the stance, sacrifices and activities of Andrzej Poczobut, but also of all those who are prisoners of the Lukashenko regime. By doing this, we convey a strong message that we remember them. The world is keeping them in mind. Our aspiration is for Mr. Andrzej Poczobut, the regime's detainees, and the entire Belarusian community to thrive in a country that is both free and democratic in the future."
In the Individual category, the award went to journalist Marcin Żyła, an author of "reports, articles, lectures, broadcasts, and presentations about human rights, humanitarian aid and the current state of Europe."
He was singled out for praise because of his "continual appeal for the dignity and respect that everyone deserves," the prize organizers said. They added that Żyła's work imparts "a sense of solidarity with others from culturally diverse societies, countries, and continents."
The official award presentation ceremony was held in the southern Polish city of Kraków on Thursday.
Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian diplomat and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who was killed in a bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.
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Source: Villa Decius Association