Human rights activist honoured

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese has urged governments to do more to protect human rights workers under threat in their own countries.

Paying tribute to the work of five human rights defenders short-listed for the annual Front Line awards, the President said that despite 60 years of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, in many parts of the world, fundamental rights were still not guaranteed.

“To be a champion of human rights is often to be very alone. That is why international support, encouragement and recognition of those who serve the cause of human rights are so essential,” she said. “While there are many achievements to look back on with pride over these past 60 years, the work that remains to be done when we look ahead is daunting, even terrifying in some circumstances.”

The President presented the overall award to Raghda Issa Refki on behalf of her husband, Syrian lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who has been a leading human rights and pro-democracy campaigner for the past 20 years and is currently in prison for his activities. She praised Anwar’s courage in refusing to give in to the constant threats and harassment and she praised Raghda for her unstinting support and for being his public face now that he is in jail.

Anwar was chosen from the short list by an all-party panel of Dáil deputies.

“Despite all the problems, the tragedies and the abuses, he has kept his belief in the prospect of a better future for Syria,” said Front Line director Mary Lawlor.

The other nominees were Indonesian lawyer Latifah Anum Siregar, who is chairwoman of the Alliance for Democracy in Papua; Liu Jie from China who is currently detained in a labour camp for her fight for the rights of rural communities; Valdecy dos Santos from Brazil who is under continuous death threats because of his defence of poor farmers and the environment; and Padre Andres Tamayo from Honduras who organises peaceful protests against logging operations that have destroyed farms and homelands.

Front Line was set up in Ireland in 2001 and works internationally supporting human rights defenders.

www.frontlinedefenders.org