Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders

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Presented in Geneva every year, the Martin Ennals Award recognises a human rights defender working in a difficult environment, often at great personal risk. The Martin Ennals Awards highlights the courage and perseverance of human rights defenders and provides both the winners and finalists with protection through a high media visibility. The award enjoys the active support of the City of Geneva, which organises the awards ceremony in cooperation with the Martin Ennals Foundation.

By shedding light on the actions of people who fight for human rights, this award aims to make the population aware of the all-too-frequent attacks suffered by civilians during times of war, political prisoners and other victims of injustice.

Created in 1994, the award focuses on highlighting individuals and their actions in the field. The three finalists each receive a travel grant worth CHF 5,000, enabling them to attend the awards ceremony in Geneva. The Martin Ennals Foundation also offers the winner at least CHF 20,000 and a further CHF 10,000 to each of the other two finalists.

The Martin Ennals award has gained global recognition and is even referred to by some people as the “Nobel Prize for Human Rights”. The Award Jury comprises ten of the leading organisations promoting human rights, thereby guaranteeing the credibility and independence of the selection procedure for the finalists. The jury consists of the following organisations:

• Amnesty International
• Human Rights Watch
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
• Front Line Defenders
• International Commission of Jurists
• Human Rights First
• International Service for Human Rights
• Pain pour le monde
• HURIDOCS
• World Organisation Against Torture

Martin Ennals Award 2022

The Martin Ennals Award 2022 edition celebrates three inspiring personalities from the human rights movement on 2 June 2022: Dr Daouda Diallo, Pham Doan Trang and Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja.

Martin Ennals Award 2021

At a ceremony organised by the City of Geneva on 11 February 2021, the Martin Ennals Award was presented to Yu Wensheng, Chinese human rights lawyer.

Martin Ennals Award 2020

At a ceremony organised by the City of Geneva on 19 February 2020, the Martin Ennals Award was presented to Huda Al-Sarari, Yemeni lawyer and human rights defender.

Find the list of winners of previous years on the Martin Ennal Award website.