Council of Europe: applications open for the Václav Havel Prize for the defence of human rights in Europe and in non-EU countries

Applications for the Václav Havel Prize 2023 for the defence of human rights in Europe and non-EU countries have just opened. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation, published the call earlier today. It was announced in a release by the Council of Europe. The prize is worth 60 thousand euros, and a trophy and a diploma will be awarded too. Applicants must show they had a powerful impact on the human rights of a specific group, “have been decisive in uncovering large-scale systemic breaches or have successfully mobilised the public opinion or the international community for a cause”. The prize will be awarded to the winners in Strasbourg in October 2023. Such prize was created in 2013 and was awarded to Vladimir Kara-Murza (Russian Federation), Maria Kalesnikava (Belarus), Loujain Alhathloul (Saudi Arabia), jointly with Ilham Tohti (China) and the Youth initiative for Human Rights (Balkans), Oyub Titiev (Russian Federation), Murat Arslan (Turkey), Nadia Murad (Iraq), Ludmilla Alexeeva (Russian Federation), Anar Mammadli (Azerbaijan) and Ales Bialiatski (Belarus). Applications must be sent to the Parliamentary Assembly by April 30th by mail to hrprize.pace@coe.int, using the special form. They must be signed by at least five sponsors and written in English or in French.
Valentina Bombelli