Asma gets UN Human Rights Award
UNITED NATIONS: Asma Jahangir, Chief of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was named as this year’s winner of a United Nations award that recognises outstanding individual contribution to promoting a culture of human rights around the world, the UN said earlier this week.
The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Irina Bokova, nominated Ms Jahangir as laureate of this year’s Bilbao Prize for “the promotion of a culture of human rights” in recognition of her work in the Supreme Court.
Ms Jahangir is known the world over for her roles as the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions.
The award is meant to honour her commitment and contribution to fostering inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, tolerance, mutual understanding and cooperation for peace, Unesco said.
The award carries a $25,000 in cash, a diploma and a bronze trophy, which will be presented at a ceremony in Bilbao, Spain, on Dec 10.
The Unesco/Bilbao prize is given out every two years and is funded by a donation from the Spanish city. It succeeded the Unesco Prize for Human Rights Education that was set up 30 years ago.
The prize was first awarded to Stéphane Hessel, a French human rights advocate, in 2008.
Source: Dawn
Date:11/20/2010
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