Dear Madam/Sir,
I have the pleasure to announce the call for nominations for the 2021 edition of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
This annual prize is awarded by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library, the Charta 77 Foundation, and the Government of the Czech Republic. It 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.
The Prize, which consists of a sum of €60 000, a trophy and a diploma, rewards outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond. It is open to nominations from any individual, non-governmental organisation or institution working to defend human rights.
Since 2013, it was awarded successively to Ales Bialiatski (Belarus), Anar Mammadli (Azerbaijan), Ludmilla Alexeeva (Russian Federation), Nadia Murad (Iraq), Murat Arslan (Turkey), Oyub Titiev (Russian Federation) and was awarded jointly to Ilham Tohti (China) and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR).
The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2021 edition of the Prize is 30 April 2021. The Award Ceremony will take place in the Assembly Chamber in September 2021 during the Fourth part-session.
Prize regulations and the nomination forms can be found on the Assembly’s website: https://pace.coe.int/en/pages/havelprize
Should you require further information, the Secretariat of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize remains at your disposal, by mail [email protected] or by phone at + 33 3 90 21 41 00.
Yours faithfully,
Ms Isild Heurtin
Secretariat of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize
