2008 United Nations Human Rights Prize

What is the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights? 

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 was awarded for the first time on 10 December 1968, the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Prize has since been awarded in 1973, 1978, 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003.

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. 

How are the winners of the Prize chosen? 

An important feature of the Prize is that nominations can be received from a broad variety of sources: “Member States, specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations in consultative status and from other appropriate sources.” 
Once nominations have been reviewed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a consolidated list is presented to a committee that selects the winners. The five members of this committee are: the President of the General Assembly; the President of the Economic and Social Council; the President of the Human Rights Council; the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women; and the Chair of the Advisory Committee. 

Nominations for the 2008 Prize 

The 2008 Prize will be awarded at an event at UN Headquarters in New York on 10 December 2008, as part of the annual commemoration of Human Rights Day. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has already sent written requests for nominations to Member States, UN programmes and agencies and the approximately two hundred and fifty non-governmental organizations accredited to this year’s session of the Commission on Human Rights. Nominations can be submitted on the form below and should be received at the indicated email, postal address or fax number by 15 July 2008.