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	Winners of the United Nations Human Rights Prize for 2013 by UN Office for Human Rights   Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013   Twenty years ago, a historic document was adopted in Vienna. It crystallized the principle that human rights are universal, and committed States to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all people, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems.   Among many other significant and ground-breaking achievements, the Vienna Declaration led to the creation of my Office – the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.   Since then, there have been many advances – indeed more than people perhaps realize.   The fundamentals for protecting and promoting human rights are largely in place: these include a strong and growing body of international human rights law and standards, as well as institutions to interpret the laws, monitor compliance and apply them to new and emerging human rights issues.   The key now is to implement those laws and standards to make enjoyment of human rights a reality on the ground. The political will, and the human and financial resources, to achieve this are too often lacking.   The 20 years since Vienna have also, unfortunately, seen many setbacks and a number of tragic failures to prevent atrocities and safeguard human rights.   In several instances where deplorable, large-scale violations of international human rights law were occurring, the international community was too slow, too divided, too short-sighted – or just plain inadequate in its response to the warnings of human rights defenders and the cries of victims.   The Vienna Declaration should be viewed as a blueprint for a magnificent construction that is still only half built.   The conduct of States is more scrutinised than ever, and the expansion of civil society organizations and individual human rights activists over the past 20 years has been truly remarkable. Along with independent national human rights institutions, these are the bedrock of human rights development at the national level. But, it is a matter of deep concern that they are also facing increasing harassment and intimidation in many countries.   Women continue to suffer discrimination, violence and persecution. So do ethnic, racial and religious minorities, and migrants, as well as individuals because of their sexual orientation. This shows how far we still have to go.   Internal conflicts continue to produce horrendous and widespread human rights abuses. Peaceful protests by people exercising, and calling for, their legitimate rights are being ruthlessly crushed by authorities virtually on a daily basis.   Changing and shifting populations, fuelled by rising poverty, refugee movements and volatile global economics, make countering ‘fear of the other’ a priority.   And complex new challenges continue to emerge, such as climate change and global terrorist movements.   The way we operate in this world is also changing at breakneck speed.   Modern technologies are transforming the way we do human rights work. In 1993, the World Wide Web was just four years old, and its future use and reach could barely have been imagined, nor how fundamentally the Internet would affect our lives. Together with social media and IT innovations, these technologies are dramatically improving real-time communications and information-sharing. They are also magnifying the voice of human rights defenders, shining a light on abuses, and mobilizing support for various causes in many parts of the world.   But we have also seen how new technologies are facilitating the violation of human rights, with chilling 21st Century efficiency. In breach of international law, mass electronic surveillance and data collection are threatening both individual rights, and the free functioning of a vibrant civil society.   A Tweet or Facebook post by a human rights defender can be enough to land him or her in jail. Drones can be, and are being, used for positive purposes. But armed drones are also being deployed, without due legal process, for the remote targeting of individuals. So-called “Killer robots” – autonomous weapons systems that can select and hit a target without human intervention – are no longer science fiction, but a reality.   Their likely future deployment poses deeply troubling ethical and legal questions.   Continued vigilance is needed to ensure that new technologies advance rather than destroy human rights. No matter the scale of these changes, existing international human rights law and international humanitarian law governing the conduct of armed conflict remain applicable.   States must ensure that they are applied.   At the international level, a huge amount of work remains to be done to transform human rights from abstract promises to genuine improvement in the daily lives of all people, especially those who are currently marginalized or excluded.   The UN Human Rights Office will continue to work with all our partners to try to prevent human rights breaches from occurring. We will continue to be vocal about human rights violations. We will continue to ask States to do their part – the biggest part by far – to ensure that the tragic mistakes of the past are not repeated and that the human rights of all are protected and promoted. We can and we must do better.   December 2013   The winners of the prestigious United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for 2013 have been announced by the Selection Committee.   They are: Mr. Biram Dah Abeid, Ms. Hiljmnijeta Apuk, Ms. Liisa Kauppinen, Ms. Khadija Ryadi, the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico and Ms. Malala Yousafzai. The committee consisting of the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Economic and Social Council, President of the Human Rights Council, Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women and Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council, has been tasked by the General Assembly with selecting the winners.   The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights is an honorary award given to individuals and organizations in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights. The Prize was established by the General Assembly in 1966 and awarded for the first time on 10 December 1968, the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on what became widely known as International “Human Rights Day”.   The Prize has been awarded every five years since 1968 (in 1973, 1978, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013). Previous laureates have included Amnesty International, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Prize is an opportunity not only to give public recognition to the achievements of the recipients themselves, but also to send a clear message to human rights defenders the world over that the international community is grateful for, and supports, their tireless efforts to promote all human rights for all.   The award ceremony for the 2013 Prize will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on 10 December 2013, as part of the annual commemoration of Human Rights Day that will this year include the observance of the 20th Anniversary of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.   The 2013 awardees are:   1. Mr. Biram Dah Abeid (campaigner against slavery) from Mauritania   Mr. Abeid, himself the son of freed-slaves, is engaged in an advocacy campaign to eradicate slavery. In 2008, he founded an NGO, the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement. His organization seeks to draw attention to the issue and to help take specific cases before courts of law. Mr. Abeid recently won a human rights defenders award for his work.   2. Ms. Hiljmnijeta Apuk (human rights activist and campaigner for rights of people with disproportional restricted growth – short stature) from Kosovo.   Hiljmnijeta Apuk has been an activist for the rights of the persons with disabilities for over 30 years, both domestically as well as internationally. She is the founding director of the Little People of Kosovo non-governmental organization and acts as national coordinator of an awareness campaign for employment possibilities of persons with disabilities. In addition to working for many years on rights of persons with muscular dystrophy and of those with disproportionally restricted growth up to the height of 125cm, Ms. Apuk is also an artist, working to promote authentic culture of persons with disabilities through her artwork. Ms. Apuk was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee of the UN General Assembly on drafting of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.   3. Ms. Liisa Kauppinen (President emeritus of the World Federation of the Deaf) Finland   Dr. Liisa Kauppinen has been a ‘voice’ for the human rights of deaf people since 1970. She was effective in securing the inclusion of references to signed languages, Deaf Culture, Deaf Community and the identity of deaf people within the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006. Dr Kauppinen"s human rights work, however, has not focused exclusively on the rights of deaf people, but also on rights of women and women with disabilities. Dr Kauppinen"s passion for international work lead to a number of development co-operation projects with Deaf Communities in Africa, Central Asia, South East Asia, Latin America, the Balkans and North West Russia.   4. Ms. Khadija Ryadi (Former President of the Morocco Association for Human Rights) Morroco   Khadija Ryadi has been a human rights activist since 1983 when she joined the Moroccan Association for Human Rights. Ms. Ryadi has been at the fore-front of several human rights causes, including fight against impunity, full equality between men and women, self-determination and freedom of expression regardless of sexual orientation. She is a coordinator of a network of 22 human rights NGOs in Morocco.   5. Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico (Mexico’s Constitutional Court)   The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice provides legal protections for constitutional rights of Mexican citizens and residents. The national Supreme Court has accomplished very considerable progress in promoting human rights through its interpretations and enforcement of Mexico’s constitution and its obligations under international law. Additionally, the national Supreme Court has set important human rights standards for Mexico and the Latin-American region.   6. Malala Yousafzai (student activist), Pakistan   Malala Yousafzai has become a symbol for young women’s rights the world over. Initially a vocal and well-known advocate for education and women’s rights, she was already a well-known figure speaking out on the girls’ crucial right to education, women’s empowerment and the links between the two. After surviving an October 2012 assassination attempt in retaliation for her actions and advocacy for education and women’s rights, Ms. Yousafzai has demonstrated her courage and commitment by continuing to speak out on behalf of the rights of girls and women.   http://at20.ohchr.org/stories.html http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/StoriesbyDate.aspx Visit the related web page
	International Day for the Abolition of Slavery by Gulnara Shahinian UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery   2 December 2013   “Even as we try to eradicate slavery, a number of new global trends and risk factors affecting many of our societies today can actually render some communities and groups newly vulnerable to slavery-like practices, cautioned the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery”, Gulnara Shahinian, on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.   Global trends such as the increased frequency and severity natural disasters, including desertification, floods, typhoons, mudslides and others such as earthquakes, impact on poor communities the most. Some communities are repeatedly hit by these disasters, which destroy their livelihoods and resources, and force many to adopt harmful coping strategies.   “On this occasion of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, I want to raise awareness that the resurgence of different forms of slavery, is a real risk in situations such as the earthquake in Haiti or the typhoon in the Philippines more recently. It is critical that organisations working with vulnerable populations integrate prevention strategies into their humanitarian, recovery and development programs from the very beginning which specifically address the risk of contemporary forms of slavery,” continued the Special Rapporteur.   Children in these situations are especially vulnerable due to the loss of parents and community structures, the disruption in their schooling, lack of adequate housing and the sudden and often dramatic deterioration of their socio-economic situation. “Children caught in these circumstances can become victims of domestic servitude, engage in hazardous work and other worst forms of child labor, and may even be subject to sexual exploitation. Adults are also vulnerable to many of these phenomena as they try to desperately provide for themselves and dependants”, stated Ms. Shahinian.   “Another global trend I am concerned about is the rapid pace of unmanaged urbanization, usually consisting of internal migration from rural to urban centres in many developing countries. Many who are coming to urban centres in order to flee poverty in their places of origin, do so in terrible conditions, have to resort to living in informal settlements or slum areas, and often have to take up work in conditions tantamount to slavery. They may end up in situations of bonded labour, domestic servitude, become vulnerable to traffickers, or be used in organized begging, drug transactions, and commercial sex. They can be exploited in a myriad of ways, including by criminal elements in these informal settlements, which are often beyond the effective reach of law enforcement authorities”, explained the Special Rapporteur.   On this international day dedicated to the eradication of slavery, the Special Rapporteur urged Governments to invest more in places of origin, and to work with other stakeholders, including development actors, urban planners and affected populations, in order to avoid a resurgence of slavery-like practices among poor urban settlers. “Whether in these situations, or in cases of natural disasters, it is essential that humanitarian and development actors apply a human rights based approach which identities groups at risk, uses participatory methods, and is used to develop programs addressing the risks of falling into modern day slavery-like practices”, stressed Gulnara Shahinian.   The Special Rapporteur also noted the regressive tendencies in some societies and communities vis a vis the human rights of women, as a further area of concern. “Where there is a backlash against women’s rights - such as denial of equal access to education, equality in marriage, freedom of movement or the right to work, - women and girls are forced into situations of dependency, servitude, and harmful traditional practices such as early and forced marriages which can become servile marriages tantamount to slavery” stated Shahinian.   “In all of these contexts, compromising human rights, which is sometimes justified for the sake of political or economic expediency, can place many societies in a backward trend in combating slavery; a phenomena which we truly can and need to eradicate from human civilization. Visit the related web page
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