Civil Courage Prize
The Civil Courage Prize is a human rights award which recognizes "steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk—rather than military valor."[1] The prize was founded in 2000 by the Northcote Parkinson Fund.[1][further explanation needed] The goal of the prize is not to create a "ranking", but "to draw attention individually to some extraordinary heroes of conscience."[2] It was inspired by the example of Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn.[3]
History[edit]
In 2007, the Northcote Parkinson Fund's name was changed to The Train Foundation in recognition of the contributions of the family of investment advisor John Train, the fund's primary donor.[1][4]
In 2022, the board of trustees consisted of seven members:[2]
- John Train (chair)
- George C. Biddle, Trustee and co-chairman; chairman, World Connect (co-chair)
- Louis N. Bickford, CEO of MEMRIA.ORG (treasurer)
- Ariadne Calvo-Platero, journalist (president)
- Musa T. Klebnikov, Paul Klebnikov Fund Executive Director
- The Hon. Nicholas Platt, Former U.S. Ambassador
- Ann Brownell Sloane, The Eisenhower Foundation
Since 2000, the foundation has awarded the Civil Courage Prize one or two activists each year.[5] The prize comes with a $25,000 honorarium.[6][3] Nominations are accepted from international non-governmental organizations, while unsolicited nominations are discouraged.[2] The award ceremony is held in New York City or London in October of each year.[3][6][7] Keynote speakers have included British historian Michael Howard,[8] US journalist Jon Meacham,[7] British Home Secretary Douglas Hurd,[8] and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.[8]
Seven posthumous award winners have also been named, ranging from Swedish businessman Raoul Wallenberg, who worked to save the lives of Hungarian Jews during World War II, to Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, assassinated in 2004.[9] In 2004 and 2005, the Foundation also awarded "Certificates of Distinction in Civil Courage" to selected prize finalists. The certificates included honorariums of $1,000 apiece.[10]
Honorees[edit]
| Year | Honorees | Country | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Nataša Kandić | Yugoslavia | [5] |
| 2001 | Paul Kamara | Sierra Leone | [5] |
| 2002 | Vladimiro Roca Antúnez | Cuba | [5] |
| 2003 | Shahnaz Bukhari | Pakistan | [5] |
| 2004 | Emadeddin Baghi | Iran | [5] |
| Lovemore Madhuku | Zimbabwe | [5] | |
| 2005 | Min Ko Naing | Myanmar | [5] |
| Anna Politkovskaya | Russia | [5] | |
| 2006 | Rafael Marques de Morais | Angola | [5] |
| 2007 | Phillip Buck | United States | [5] |
| 2008 | Ali Salem | Egypt | [5] |
| 2009 | Aminatou Haidar | Western Sahara | [5] |
| 2010 | Andrew White | England | [5] |
| 2011 | Lydia Cacho Ribeiro | Mexico | [5] |
| Triveni Acharya | India | [5] | |
| 2012 | Yu Jie | China | [6] |
| 2013 | Denis Mukwege | Democratic Republic of the Congo | [5] |
| 2014 | Nicola Gratteri | Italy | [5] |
| 2015 | Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar | Guatemala | [11] |
| Claudia Paz y Paz | Guatemala | [11] | |
| 2016 | Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently | Syria | [12] |
| 2017 | Pierre Claver Mbonimpa | Burundi | [13] |
| 2018 | Vladimir Kara-Murza | Russia | [14] |
| 2019 | Gonzalo Himiob | Venezuela | [15] |
| 2021 | Eric K. Ward | United States | [16] |
| 2022 | Alexei Navalny | Russia | [17] |
| 2023 | Nasrin Sotoudeh | Iran | [18] |
Posthumous honorees[edit]
| Honorees | Year of death | Country | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dietrich Bonhoeffer | 1945 | Germany | [9] |
| Giovanni Falcone | 1992 | Italy | [9] |
| Abdul-Latif Ali al-Mayah | 2004 | Iraq | [9] |
| Rosemary Nelson | 1999 | Ireland | [9] |
| Munir Said Thalib | 2004 | Indonesia | [9] |
| Neelan Tiruchelvam | 1999 | Sri Lanka | [9] |
| Raoul Wallenberg | 1947 | Sweden | [9] |
Certificates of Distinction in Civil Courage[edit]
| Honoree | Year of death | Country | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Dan Que Nguyen | Vietnam | [10] |
| Arnold Tsunga | Zimbabwe | [10] | |
| Raphael Wakenge | Democratic Republic of the Congo | [10] | |
| 2005 | Rajan Hoole | Sri Lanka | [10] |
| Kopalasingham Sritharan | Sri Lanka | [10] |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Civil Courage Prize". Civil Courage Prize. 2012. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- ^ a b c "About Us: The Train Foundation". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Egyptian Playwright Awarded Prize for Fight for Peace". Fox News. November 20, 2008. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ Mike Collett-White (November 19, 2008). "Egypt author Ali Salem receives courage award". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Honorees". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c Hsiao Boa-hsiang and Sofia Wu (July 17, 2012). "Chinese dissident writer wins Civil Courage Prize". FocusTaiwan. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ a b "Canon Andrew White Wins 11th Annual Civil Courage Prize". ReligionWriters. October 12, 2010. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Remarks by Keynote Speakers". Civil Courage Prize. 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Posthumous Recognition". Civil Courage Prize. 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Certificates of Distinction in Civil Courage". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ a b "Guatemalans Yassmin Barrios and Claudia Paz Y Paz Win 2015 Civil Courage Prize For Their Pursuit of Justice and Human Rights". Civil Courage Prize. October 12, 2015. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
- ^ "2016 Civil Courage Prize Honoree". Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
- ^ "2017 Civil Courage Prize Honoree". Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "2018 Civil Courage Prize Honoree". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- ^ "Honorees". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Laureates".
- ^ "Alexei Navalny of Russia". Civil Courage Prize. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "A prominent human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh is one of Iran's leading women's rights activists". Civil Courage Prize. Retrieved 1 March 2024.