Dear Colleagues,
I have the honour to open the 2016 award ceremony of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights.
I invite you to watch the video presenting the Prize.
Dear Colleagues, Dear nominees,
Your excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am proud and honored that today the Parliamentary Assembly will award the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize for the fourth time since the creation of this award in 2013.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners - the government of the Czech Republic, the Václav Havel Library, the Charta 77 Foundation - for their invaluable support and commitment to maintaining the legacy of Mr Havel.
Allow me also to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the Selection Panel:
- Mr František Janouch
- Ms Nuala Mole
- Mr Marek Nowicki
- Mr Martin Palouš
- Mr Christos Pourgorides
Thank you very much to all of you for your professionalism and great cooperation.
I am also pleased to welcome on this occasion Mr Anar Mammadli, Azerbaijani human rights defender, long-standing partner of the Council of Europe, and winner of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2014.
Mr Mammadli was in jail at the time of the award of the Prize in 2014. He was finally released in March 2016, and since then, he has continued to advocate the spirit of the Václav Havel's legacy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This year would have marked the 80th anniversary of Václav Havel.
He is not with us anymore, but his legacy, his spirit, his memory are more relevant than ever.
Through his writing and his political activity, Václav Havel forewarned the international community about the danger of hatred and prejudice, and the importance of tolerance, coexistence, and the respect for human rights and the rule of law.
In times when we are facing renewed challenges to the unity of Europe, when diversity is becoming a dividing element, and people are starting to look at each other with suspicion and mistrust, we must turn back to his message.
I would therefore like to pay a tribute to his message by recalling his words at the inauguration of the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg in June 1995:
"Dark forces of tribal hatred lie dormant in many a part. If we let them get the upper hand in one place, they will begin to awake in many other places as well. We must not allow this to happen at the very moment when Europe has, for the first time in its history, a chance of building its political order on the principle of peaceful coexistence and cooperation on a footing of equality among all its nations, on the principle of democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and civil statehood".
Let's not forget his warning.
We must not let "dark forces" poison our spirit.
We must continue to uphold our democratic values and praise the special role played by human rights defenders that alert us, like Václav Havel did, when something goes wrong.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am proud to introduce the three human rights defenders who, despite challenging contexts, have continued to seek positive change.
The three shortlisted candidates for the 2016 edition of the Prize, in alphabetical order, are:
Ms Gordana Igric – Serbian journalist and an active defender of human rights and media freedom.
She reported extensively on war crimes during the Balkan wars and set up the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN.
Through her work, she keeps the flame of freedom of speech alive and puts a spotlight on human rights abuses.
The International Institute of Human Rights – René Cassin Foundation – since 1969, the Institute has worked for the promotion of human rights and peace through teaching and research.
It organizes specialised training courses which contribute to the dissemination of the principles of democracy and the rule of law and to the strengthening of guarantees for the protection of human rights in Europe and beyond.
Ms Nadia Murad – a young, brave Yazidi woman, who managed to flee ISIS in northern Iraq.
Today a human rights activist, she brings to the attention of the international community some of the horrors of ISIS and the problems of the Yazidi community, in particular the forced sexual enslavement and human trafficking of women and children captured by ISIS.
Each of the finalists is making an incredibly important contribution in building a Europe and the world as Václav Havel wanted it to be: strong, united, and proud of its values and its diversity.
You may understand that it was not easy for the Panel to take a decision.
Your excellences, Ladies and gentlemen,
The protection of human rights is an eternal combat and a marathon, in which human rights defenders will always strive to advance despite hardship and obstacles in their path.
Their daily efforts and commitment to the common good deserve respect and recognition. This ceremony is dedicated to them.
I would now invite you to watch another short video.
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It is now time to announce the laureate of the fourth Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
The winner of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2016 is Ms Nadia MURAD.
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And now I would like to invite the other finalists to join me, please.
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It is an honour for me to invite the laureate of the 2016 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize to deliver a speech. Please, you have the floor.
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Thank you very much for your words, and above all, thank you very much for your courage and your commitment in defending the cause of human rights.
This concludes our ceremony.
And now let's take a family photo!