Human Rights Activists Honored‏

The Week In Rights 
Human Rights WatchTHE WEEK IN RIGHTS
September 01, 2016
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Human Rights Activists Honored »


Photo © 2014 Teddy Mazina, Byloom, Ilan, 2016 Shariful Islam Sourav, Photo courtesy of Yonous Muhammadi

Four courageous and tireless advocates for human rights are the 2016 recipients of the prestigious Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. They will be honored at the Voices for Justice Human Rights Watch Annual Dinners, held in more than 20 cities worldwide. They will be joined by Nicholas Opiyo from Uganda, a past international recipient of the award. 


The winners this year are leading voices for justice in their countries.

Kalpona Akter is a former child worker in Bangladesh garment factories who organized fellow garment workers to demand fair labor rights.

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa has dedicated his life to denouncing rights violations against prisoners, activists, and people from all social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds in Burundi.

Yonous Muhammadi fled the Taliban in Afghanistan and was granted asylum in Greece, where he has since become a leading defender of refugee rights there.

Ratnaboli Ray is fighting to move India toward a rights-based system of care for people with mental health conditions.


The award is named for Dr. Alison Des Forges, senior adviser at Human Rights Watch for almost two decades, and leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath, who was killed in a plane crash in 2009. It honors her outstanding commitment to, and defense of, human rights.
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