The UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights, created in 1978 as the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

, serves to honour the efforts of organizations or individuals that have made an exemplary contribution to the advancement of knowledge on

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and building a universal culture of human rights. It was renamed on 5 May 2008 under the terms of a memorandum of understanding with Mayor of Bilbao

Iñaki Azkuna Iñaki Azkuna Urreta (14 February 1943 – 20 March 2014) was a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party. He was mayor of the city of Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country, from 1999 until his death. In 2012, Azkuna won the World May ...

whereby the municipality of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

agreed to fund the prize for a period of three years. The prize winner and the other candidates selected for honourable mention are chosen by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

from a short-list chosen by an international jury composed of six public figures representing the different regions of the world. Now awarded every second year, the prize is worth

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

25,000 and is accompanied by a trophy created by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese artist Toshimi Ishii. Winners are announced on 10 December,

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Right ...

Past winners

*2019: Romina Knightsdale, Brazil. *2018: Gonzalo Franco, Spain. *2012: Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

, South Africa. *2010:

Asma Jahangir Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...

, Pakistan. :Honourable mentions: Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi, Chile; Fundación Cultura de Paz, Spain; France terre d’asile & Fédération internationale Musique Espérance, France *2008:

Stéphane Hessel Stéphane Frédéric Hessel (20 October 1917 – 26 February 2013) was a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, French Resistance member and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939. He be ...

, France. :Honourable mention:

ATD Fourth World The International Movement ATD Fourth World is a nonprofit organization which aims towards the eradication of chronic poverty through a human-rights based approach. It works in partnership with communities across the world to end the exclusion an ...

, France. *2006:'

Centre for Human Rights The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, South Africa, is an organisation dedicated to promoting human rights on the continent of Africa. The centre, founded in 1986, promotes human rights through educational o ...

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

, South Africa. :Honourable mentions: European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation,

European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation The European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) is an interdisciplinary centre covering the area of human rights education and research formed by 41 universities from all European Union member states. The EIUC's a ...

, Venice, Italy;

One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, Czech Republic. *2004:'

Professor

Vitit Muntarbhorn Vitit Muntarbhorn ( th, วิทิต มันตาภรณ์) is an international human rights expert and professor of law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Muntarbhorn was designated in September 2016 as the first UN In ...

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...

, Bangkok, Thailand; United Nations Special Rapporteur. :Honourable mentions:

Anatoly Azarov Anatoly (russian: Анато́лий, Anatólij , uk, Анато́лій, Anatólij ) is a common Russian and Ukrainian male given name, derived from the Greek name ''Anatolios'', meaning "sunrise." Other common Russian transliterations are Ana ...

, Russian Federation;

David Jan McQuoid-Mason David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, South Africa;

Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Norway;

Peruvian Institute of Education in Human Rights and Peace Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

, Peru. *2002:'

Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos MEXICANOS (English: Mexican Academy of Human Rights) is a human rights group based in Mexico. According to its website, the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos is a non governmental, independent and plural ...

, Mexico City, Mexico. :Honourable mentions:

Institut des droits de l'homme et de promotion de la démocratie An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

(IDH), Benin; Ionna Kuçuradi,

Hacettepe University Hacettepe University is a leading state university in Ankara, Turkey. It was established on 8 July 1967. It is ranked first among the Turkish universities by URAP in 2021. The university has two main campuses. The first campus is in the old to ...

, Ankara, Turkey; Nyameko Barney Pityana, President of South Africa's

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

. *2000:'

Nuremberg, City of Nuremberg,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. :Honourable mentions: Flor Alba Romero, Colombia; Associated Schools Project, Pakistan; Hurights Osaka, Japan. *1998:'

Justice Michael Kirby (judge), Michael Kirby, High Court, Australia. :Honourable mentions:

Jaime Castillo Velasco Jaime Castillo Velasco (; 14 March 1914 – 29 October 2003) was a Chilean politician who served as president and vice-president of the Christian Democrat Party on several occasions. Early life Born in Santiago, he studied at the Liceo Ale ...

, Chile;

Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) is an experienced research and academic institution with offices, programmes, and convening power covering 40 countries. RWI's mission is to combine evidence-based human righ ...

, Sweden. *1996:'

President of Haiti, Former President

Jean Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in ...

, Republic of Haiti. :Honourable mention: Gloria Ramírez,

, Mexico. *1994: José Zalaquett Daher of Chile, and the

Philippine Commission of Human Rights The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. *1992: Arab Institute of Human Rights, Tunis, Tunisia. *1990:

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

, Czech Republic. *1988: Asamblea Permanente de los Derechos Humanos, Bolivia. *1986: Héctor Fix Zamudio, Mexico. *1983:

Felix Ermacora Felix Ermacora (13 October 1923 – 24 February 1995) was a leading human rights expert of Austria and a member of the Austrian People's Party. Biography In his youth, Ermacora served in the army of Nazi Germany at the rank of private. He wa ...

, Austria. *1981: Ali Sadek Abou-Heif, Egypt. *1979: Paul Morren, Belgium. *1978:

Mümtaz Soysal Osman Mümtaz Soysal (15 September 1929 – 11 November 2019) was a Turkish professor of constitutional law, political scientist, politician, human rights activist, ex-prisoner of conscience, senior advisor, columnist, and author. Soysal served ...

, Turkey.

References

External links

UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights
{{DEFAULTSORT:UNESCO Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights UNESCO awards Human rights awards