Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize

Last updated

The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (Raftoprisen) is a human rights award established in the memory of the Norwegian human rights activist, Thorolf Rafto. [1] [2]

Contents

Organization

The prize is awarded annually by the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights (Raftostiftelsen) which was founded in the humanistic tradition of the Helsinki Accords in order to promote the fundamental human rights of intellectual and political freedom. Today, the foundation is based at the Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. The major work of the foundation, including the organization of the award ceremony is done by a small team of professional staff and volunteers. The award ceremony takes place at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen annually in November. [3]

The initial idea of the Rafto Prize was to provide a basic informative platform for the laureates that would help to receive further attention from the international media and support from political and non-political organisations. By awarding the Rafto Prize, the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights seeks to bring attention to independent voices that due to oppressive and corruptive regimes are not always heard. For example, four Rafto Laureates have subsequently received further international assistance and were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Aung San Suu Kyi, José Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-jung and Shirin Ebadi were awarded the Rafto Prize prior to the Nobel Peace Prize. [4]

History

Thorolf Rafto was a professor of Economic History at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH). He was also well known for his political activism in Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland. During a visit to Prague in 1979 to hold a lecture for students excluded from universities for political reasons. Rafto was arrested and beaten by the communist security police which may have resulted in injuries which weakened his health. On 4 November 1986 Thorolf Rafto died. [5]

His friends and colleagues agreed to establish a foundation that would continue Rafto's work such as promotion of freedom of speech and political expression in Eastern Europe. It was also decided to introduce a prize for human right activists. The fall of the Iron Curtain and consequential democratization of Eastern European states led to a reconsideration the mission of the foundation. Meanwhile it had opened new possibilities to work with other geographical regions in a promotion of human rights. Already in 1990, the Rafto Prize was awarded to a Burmese democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi who, in the following year 1991, received the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. For the first years, the foundation was based at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. From 1997, the Rafto Foundation was relocated to the Human Rights House of Bergen, Norway. [6]

Ceremony

The Rafto Prize is awarded annually on the first Sunday in November and since 1990, the official ceremony takes place at the National Theatre of Bergen. Among the invited guests are representatives from Bergen municipality and the Norwegian government, academics, supporters and partners of the Rafto Foundation and family members of the Rafto family. [7]

Criteria and nomination process

The annual deadline for nominations is 1 April. Voluntary organisations, institutions and individuals worldwide, with knowledge or interest in human rights are allowed to nominate candidates for the Rafto Prize. Former recipients of the prize can also nominate candidates, although candidates who are nominated by themselves or by their staff or by honorary officers will not be taken into consideration. After the deadline, all applications are carefully considered by the prize committee and the final decision is usually released at the press conference at Rafto House in September. [8]

List of Laureates

YearLaureate(s)Country
1987 Jiří Hájek Czechoslovakia
1988 Trivimi Velliste Estonian SSR (Soviet Union)
1989 Doina Cornea
FIDESZ (Dr Peter Molnar)
Romania
Hungary
1990 Aung San Suu Kyi Burma
1991 Jelena Bonner Soviet Union
1992 Preah Maha Ghosananda Cambodia
1993The people of East Timor, represented by José Ramos-Horta East Timor (Indonesia)
1994 Leyla Zana Turkey
1995 Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia Russia
1996 Palermo Anno Uno Italy
1997The Romani people, represented by Ian Hancock Romani people
1998 ECPAT Thailand
1999 Gennady Grushevoy Belarus
2000 Kim Dae-jung South Korea
2001 Shirin Ebadi Iran
2002 Sidi Mohammed Daddach Western Sahara (Morocco)
2003 Paulos Tesfagiorgis Eritrea
2004 Rebiya Kadeer China
2005 Lidia Yusupova Russia
2006 Thich Quang Do, represented by Vo Van Ai [9] Vietnam
2007 National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights India
2008Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué [10] [11] Democratic Republic of the Congo
2009 Malahat Nasibova Azerbaijan
2010Bishop José Raúl Vera López Mexico
2011 Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and their leader Frank Mugisha Uganda
2012 Nnimmo Bassey Nigeria
2013 Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Bahrain
2014 Agora - Pavel Chikov Russia
2015 Ismael Moreno ("Padre Melo")Honduras
2016 Yanar Mohammed [12] Iraq
2017 Parveena Ahanger and Parvez Imroz Jammu and Kashmir
2018 Adam Bodnar Poland
2019 Rouba Mhaissen Syria/Lebanon
2020 Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms Egypt
2021 Human Rights Data Analysis Group USA
2022 Nodjigoto Charbonnel and AJPNV (Association Jeunesse pour la Paix et la Non-violence) Chad
2023 Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) Palestine

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aung San Suu Kyi</span> Burmese politician and democracy activist (born 1945)

DawAung San Suu Kyi, sometimes abbreviated to Suu Kyi, is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and democracy activist who served as state counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since the party's founding in 1988 and was registered as its chairperson while it was a legal party from 2011 to 2023. She played a vital role in Myanmar's transition from military junta to partial democracy in the 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobel Prize</span> Prizes established by Alfred Nobel in 1895

The Nobel Prizes are five separate prizes awarded to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind, as established by the 1895 will of Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist Alfred Nobel, in the year before he died. Prizes were first awarded in 1901 by the Nobel Foundation. Nobel's will indicated that the awards should be granted in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. A sixth prize for Economic Sciences, endowed by Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, and first presented in 1969, is also frequently included, as it is also administered by the Nobel Foundation. The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards available in their respective fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakharov Prize</span> European award for human rights

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, the prize was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorolf Rafto</span> Norwegian human rights activist (July 6, 1922 – November 4, 1986)

Thorolf Rafto was a human rights activist and professor in Economic History at the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, Norway. The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights was established in gratitude for his efforts and inspiration.

The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights was established in 1986 in memory of Thorolf Rafto, a professor of economic history at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) and a human rights activist. The main objective of the Rafto Foundation is the promotion of freedom of political expression and enterprise. The work of the foundation consists of different educational and informative projects, including the annual award of the Rafto Prize (Raftoprisen) each November. The foundation is based in Bergen, Norway and run by a small team of professionals and volunteers.

Hanna Kristine Kvanmo was a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1973 to 1989, representing the county of Nordland, as the first parliamentary leader of the Socialist Left Party from 1977 to 1989. She was a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1991 to 2002, and served as the committee's vice chair from 1993 to 1998. During her term on the Nobel committee, she participated in the decisions to award the Nobel Peace Prize to individuals such as Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Kofi Annan. She worked for the thoroughly nazified German Red Cross in the ending years of the Second World War, and she was convicted for treason following her repatriation to Norway in 1947.

Lidia Muhtarovna Yusupova is a Russian-Chechen human rights advocate, currently serving as the coordinator for the law office of the Moscow-based organization Memorial. Formerly, Yusupova was the director of the Grozny office of Memorial. Currently, Yusupova is completing a two-year law fellowship in Moscow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma</span> Government in exile which existed from 1990 to 2012

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma was an administration which claimed to be the government in exile of Burma (Myanmar). It had its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, United States. It was formally established in December 1990, with Sein Win as its first prime minister. It was dissolved in September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Rights Foundation</span> Human rights non-government organisation

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights globally, with an emphasis on closed societies. HRF organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum. The Human Rights Foundation was founded in 2005 by Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, a Venezuelan film producer and human rights advocate. The current chairman is Russian opposition activist Yulia Navalnaya, and Javier El-Hage is the current chief legal officer. The foundation's head office is in the Empire State Building in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Healey</span> American human rights activist

Jack Healey is an American human rights activist, author and the former director of Amnesty International USA. He is best known as the organizer of Amnesty's benefit concerts in the 1980's featuring bands like U2, the Police, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Sinead O’Connor, Bob Dylan, Santana, Tracy Chapman and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Rights House of Bergen</span>

The Human Rights House of Bergen is based in Bergen, Norway. It is located near the student centre (Studentsenteret) of the University of Bergen and is owned and operated by the Egil Rafto House Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oslo Freedom Forum</span> Series of global conferences

Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is a series of global conferences run by the New York–based non-profit Human Rights Foundation under the slogan "Challenging Power". OFF was founded in 2009 as a one-time event and has taken place annually ever since. The forum aims to bring together notable people, including former heads of state, winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, prisoners of conscience, as well as of other public figures in order to network and exchange ideas about human rights and exposing dictatorships.

Alexander Myint San Aung Aris is the elder son of Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris. He is also a grandson of Aung San, who is credited with achieving the independence of Myanmar. He has been representing his mother, who has been detained by the military junta for years; he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for her, and on many other awards and occasions, he has represented her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Nobel Peace Prize</span> Award

The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017) "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". The laureate, once an eminent scholar, was reportedly little-known inside the People's Republic of China (PRC) at the time of the award due to official censorship; he partook in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and was a co-author of the Charter 08 manifesto, for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison on 25 December 2009. Liu, who was backed by former Czech president Václav Havel and anti-apartheid activist and cleric Desmond Tutu, also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, received the award among a record field of more than 200 nominees.

The Cinema for Peace Foundation is a registered, non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany. It supports film-based projects dealing with global humanitarian and environmental issues, and coordinates the Cinema for Peace awards.

<i>The Lady</i> (2011 film) 2011 film by Luc Besson

The Lady is a 2011 British biographical film directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her late husband Michael Aris. Yeoh called the film "a labour of love" but also confessed it had felt intimidating for her to play the Nobel laureate.

The Nobel Women's Initiative is an international advocacy organisation based in Ottawa, Canada. It was created in 2006 by six female winners of the Nobel Peace Prize to support women's groups around the world in campaigning for justice, peace and equality. The six founders are Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, and Betty Williams. The only other living female Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, was under house arrest at the time of the initiative's formation. She became an honorary member on her release in 2010. The initiative's first conference, in 2007, focused on women, conflict and security in the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent</span> American award

Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent is an award established in 2012 by the New York City-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF). According to HRF President Thor Halvorssen, the prize recognizes individuals "who engage in creative dissent, exhibiting courage and creativity to challenge injustice and live in truth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma Thida</span> Burmese human rights activist, writer, surgeon

Ma Thida (Burmese: မသီတာ; MLCTS: ma. si ta; born 2 September 1966 is a Burmese surgeon, writer, human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience. She has published under the pseudonym Suragamika which means "brave traveler". In Myanmar, Thida is best known as a leading intellectual, whose books deal with the country's political situation. She has worked as an editor at a Burmese monthly youth magazine and a weekly newspaper. She has been a surgeon at Muslim Free Hospital, which provides free services to the poor.

References

  1. Vibeke Blaker Strand. "Raftoprisen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  2. Thorolf Rafto Store norske leksikon
  3. Jon Gunnar Arntzen. "Raftostiftelsen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  4. "Rafto Foundation". Human Rights House Foundation. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  5. Arnljot Strømme Svendsen. "Thorolf Rafto". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  6. "HRH in Bergen, Norway". Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF). Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  7. "The Rafto Legacy". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  8. "Home - Raftostiftelsen". Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  9. "Freedom of belief and human rights in Vietnam". 25 August 2007.
  10. "Prestigious human rights prize to Eastern Congo". Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Norway.org. 3 October 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 2008-10-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. Berglund, Nina (25 September 2008). "Congo church leader wins Rafto Prize". Aftenposten . Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  12. "Yanar Mohammed". Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

Other sources