Call for nominations for the 2016 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in partnership with the Vaclav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation, has today issued a call for nominations for the 2016 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which will be awarded for the fourth consecutive year on 10 October next in Strasbourg.

The Prize aims to reward outstanding civil society action in defending human rights in Europe and beyond. Candidates should have made a real difference to the human rights situation of a given group, been instrumental in uncovering systemic violations on a large scale, or have successfully mobilised public opinion or the international community for a given cause.

"Today, human rights are under attack on many fronts and those who defend them – sometimes at risk to their lives or livelihoods – deserve our full support. This prize is in honour of all those who stand up for human dignity and fundamental freedoms, speak out against the abuse of democratic standards, and spare no effort to help those whose rights are violated," said PACE President Anne Brasseur.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize consists of a sum of €60,000, a trophy and a diploma.

The first Prize was awarded in 2013 to Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski. The following year, imprisoned Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli was awarded. Last year's prize went to veteran Russian human rights defender Ludmilla Alexeeva.

The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 April 2016. Nominations should be sent to the Parliamentary Assembly by e-mail to the following address: hrprize.pace@coe.int, using the form available on the Prize website. They should be signed by at least five sponsors.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by the PACE in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation to reward outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond.

The Prize is awarded in memory of Václav Havel, playwright, opponent of totalitarianism, architect of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, President of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic and an enduring symbol of opposition to despotism. Nominations of any individual, non-governmental organisation or institution working to defend human rights are taken into consideration. The Prize consists of a sum of €60 000, a trophy and a diploma.

On 25 March 2013, the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize was launched at a ceremony in Prague with the signature of the Co-operation Agreement by the President of the Assembly, Jean-Claude Mignon, the Director of the Václav Havel Library, Marta Smolíková, and the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Charta 77 Foundation, František Janouch, in the presence of Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize replaces the Assembly Human Rights Prize, which was created in 2007 and awarded every two years, first in 2009 to "British Irish Human Rights Watch" and then, in 2011, to the Russian NGO "Committee against Torture".

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Václav Havel Library
Charta 77 Foundation

Winners of the Prize

• 2015: Ludmilla Alexeeva
• 2014: Anar Mammadli
• 2013: Ales Bialiatski

Nominations for the Prize should be addressed to the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly and be signed by at least five sponsors, other than the nominee, on the special form to be found at the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize website.

Nominations shall provide details of the nominee's work in the defence of human rights and specify the reasons why the nominee's work can be considered to be outstanding. Relevant supporting documents should be provided. Nominations should be submitted in either of the two official languages of the Council of Europe, English or French.

Individuals or non-governmental institutions active in the defence of human rights can be nominated for the Prize.

The Selection Panel of the Prize is composed of the President of the Assembly (or a person designated by him/her) and six independent persons (who cannot be current members of the Assembly) with recognised moral standing in the field of human rights.

The Panel will examine the nominations, submit a shortlist of three nominees to the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly for information and, subsequently, designate the Prizewinner for the year in question.

Three Panel members are appointed by the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly and three Panel members by the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation. The six independent experts are appointed for a two-year period, renewable twice.

The Panel is chaired by the President of the Assembly or the person designated by him/her.

The Prize will be awarded at a ceremony which shall take place in Strasbourg on the Monday of the Autumn Session of the Parliamentary Assembly, usually in late September or early October.

The name of the Prizewinner is announced by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly.

The former Czech First Lady, Dagmar Havlova, is invited to honour the ceremony with her presence.

The Václav Havel Library will organise, at a later date, an international conference in Prague in honour of the Prizewinner.

Timetable for 2016:

• 15 January: call for candidates;
• 30 April: deadline for submission of nominees for the 2016 Prize;
• 30 August: first meeting of the Selection Panel in Prague which will shortlist three candidates out of the candidatures received;
• 9 October: second meeting of the Selection Panel in Strasbourg which will select the final Prizewinner from the shortlist;
• 10 October: Prize Award Ceremony in Strasbourg in the Debating Chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly during its Autumn Session.

Application:

• Nomination Form for the 2016 Prize
• Signatures of Sponsors
• Regulations
• The Secretariat of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize: hrprize.pace@coe.int; +33 3 90 21 45 20.