Edelstam Prize

Harald Edelstam in 1946.

The grave of Harald Edelstam, September 11, 2010, at Eckerö church close to Stockholm. The celebration of him helping the Chilean and others to escape during the 1973 military coup.

The Edelstam Prize, named after Harald Edelstam, is awarded annually by the Harald Edelstam Foundation. The Edelstam Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in standing up for one’s beliefs in the defense of Human Rights. The Edelstam Prize is named after, and awarded in memory of, the Swedish diplomat and ambassador Harald Edelstam (1913-1989). Harald Edelstam distinguished himself as diplomat by his professional competence, his bravery and his civic courage in the fight for Human Rights. He was an early proponent and symbol of what is today known as "Responsibility to Protect", and his memorable acts contributed to saving more than a thousand lives.

The winner of the Edelstam Prize can be a private person or a person who serves in government, international or national organisations. The winner shall be an individual who has acted in Ambassador Harald Edelstam’s spirit in a country/countries where Human Rights, according to international law, have been violated.

The laureate must have shown outstanding capabilities in analysing and handling complex situations and in finding ways, even unconventional and creative ones, to defend Human Rights. The candidate has, presumably in a complex situation, been able to take a decisive role in helping threatened people or directly saving human lives. Civic courage is a central parameter in the selection of the successful candidate.

The Jury

An international jury selects the winners from a list of nominated candidates. The jury is chaired by Harald Edelstam's granddaughter Caroline Edelstam, co-founder of the Edelstam Foundation. The other members are^[1]

• Dr. Pascoal Mocumbi, former Prime Minister of Mozambique (1994-2004), representing Africa
• Judge Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 2003, representing Asia
• Former Judge Baltasar Garzón, who served on Spain’s central criminal court, a consistent fighter for Human Rights, representing Europe. Baltasar Garzón is most famous for indicting the Chilean president, General Augusto Pinochet, for the alleged deaths and torture of Spanish citizens.
• Justice Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, representing North America
• Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, representing Latin America
• Professor Philip Alston, UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, representing Oceania

The Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee consists of

• Mrs. Lise Bergh (Chair), former Secretary General for Amnesty Sweden
• Professor Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, philosopher of Syrian origin striving for intellectual freedom and freedom of speech
• Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, United Nations former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
• Deputy Tucapel Jiménez, Member of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies’ Commission for Human Rights
• Silvia Escobar, former Human Rights Ambassador in Spain
• Professor Yash Ghai, UN’s former Special Representative on Human Rights in Cambodia
• Lee Cheuk-yan, General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions

Edelstam Prize Laureate 2012

The Edelstam Prize Jury’s motivation to give Mrs. Bahareh Hedayat the Edelstam Prize is: "Mrs. Bahareh Hedayat has through her outstanding courage and commitment to justice actively worked against Human Rights violations in Iran. In spite of serious warnings and threats from the regime’s security and intelligence forces, she has repeatedly risked her own life and freedom when defending Human Rights. She has been arrested upon several occasions, and is imprisoned right now for these reasons. The Harald Edelstam Foundation considers her a prisoner of conscience, and in consequence respectfully asks the authorities of the Republic of Iran to set her free."^[2][3]

Edelstam Prize Laureate 2014

The Edelstam Prize Jury’s motivation to give Mr. Benjamin Manuel Jerónimo the Edelstam Prize is: "Benjamín Manuel Jerónimo is a Mayan from Guatemala. Mayan communities, in spite of being the majority of the population, have been exploited, discriminated against, and victimized in their own homeland for centuries. The worst period came between 1960 and 1996: egregious abuses of human rights were perpetrated in Guatemala during the internal armed conflict. According to the CEH (UN backed Truth Commission) 200,000 civilians were murdered and 50,000 were forcibly disappeared. Most of them, 83% (93% of the abuses caused by the State), were defenseless indigenous Mayans. After the signature of the Peace Agreements, nobody was made accountable for these heinous crimes. Benjamín considered that those responsible for the crimes should be brought to justice. It was not an easy task, since discrimination, threats, retaliations and violence persist in Guatemala, and the rate of violent deaths today is double that during the war. Benjamín represents the voice of the victims; has courageous and tirelessly worked for decades in defense of human rights, truth and justice for the indigenous communities in his country, despite repeated threats against his life. His endeavor and commitment are an example and reminder every day to the international community than most of the perpetrators in Guatemala remain unpunished."^[4][5][6]

See also

• Harald Edelstam

References

• Uruguay: Mujica firma apoyo para Premio Harald Edelstam (Spanish)
• "Mujica, Uruguay's President, meets Caroline Edelstam and gives his support for The Edelstam Prize (Uruguays president undertecknar sitt stöd åt Harald Edelstam-priset)". Swedish Embassy in Argentina (Sveriges Ambassad Buenos Aires) (in Swedish). 7 March 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2015. 

External links

• http://www.edelstamprize.org/