Malala Yousafzai among winners of 2013 UN human rights prize

The Prize, which is bestowed every five years, is an honorary award given to individuals and organisations in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights. Previous recipients include Amnesty International and former presidents Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter as well as former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

“The Prize is an opportunity not only to give public recognition to the achievements of the recipients themselves, but also to send a clear message to human rights defenders the world over that the international community is grateful for, and supports, their tireless efforts to promote all human rights for all,” a news release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

The six winners announced today are: Biram Dah Abeid of Mauritania, a son of freed slaves who works to eradicate the heinous practice; Hiljmnijeta Apuk of Kosovo, a campaigner for the rights of people with disproportional restricted growth (short stature); Liisa Kauppinen of Finland, President emeritus of the World Federation of the Deaf; Khadija Ryadi, Former President of the Morocco Association for Human Rights; Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice (the Constitutional Court); and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for attending classes and is now a renowned education activist.

The award ceremony will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on Dec 10, 2013, as part of the annual commemoration of Human Rights Day, which will this year include the observance of the 20th anniversary of the creation of OHCHR and the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

(2013-12-5/dawn)