The Laureate of the Edelstam Prize 2014 will be announced on the 10th of November, 10 A.M. during a press conference at the Army Museum in Stockholm.
The Laureate will attend the press conference together with the Chair of the Jury, Ms. Caroline Edelstam. Opportunity for interviews.
Venue: Armémuseum, Riddargatan 13, Vindsrummet i östra gaveln.
Registration: please e-mail Mr. Chrisiter Lidman at christer.lidman@starshipcom.se
The winner of the Edelstam Prize can be a private person or a person who serves in Government, international or national organisations. The winner shall be an individual who has acted in Ambassador Harald Edelstam’s spirit in a country/countries where Human Rights, according to international law, have been violated.
The laureate must have shown outstanding capabilities in analysing and handling complex situations and in finding ways, even unconventional and creative ones, to defend Human Rights. The candidate has, presumably in a complex situation, been able to take a decisive role in helping threatened people or directly saving human lives. Civic courage is a central parameter in the selection of the successful candidate.
The Edelstam Prize Award Ceremony
The prize will be awarded during a ceremony followed by a reception on the 11th of November 2014, at the House of Nobility in Stockholm, Sweden.
Public Conversation with the Laureate
The Edelstam Prize will be awarded the previous day for outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in the defense of human rights.
Invitation to a Public Conversation with: THE EDELSTAM PRIZE LAUREATE 2014
on Global Responsibility: WHEN DOES THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY DARE TO BACK UP AN INDIVIDUAL’S CIVIC COURAGE?
Syria, Lybia, Iraq, Gaza, Ukraine, the Great Lakes region in Africa and parts of Latin America are places where murders, disappearances, trafficking and exploitation of human beings, and other abuses are committed every day. The international community seems unable to stop the violence and make the perpetrators accountable. Simultaneously, we see examples of extraordinary courage from individuals who risk their lives to save others in these very same locations. How can we connect these facts? How can we get states, international bodies and organizations to be courageous in backing up these brave individuals? Where is the leadership? How can we get international law respected and peaceful coexistence achieved?
Time – 12th of November, 9.30 A.M. – 12.00 P.M.
Venue – Färgfabriken, Lövholmsbrinken 1, 117 43 Stockholm.
Registration (voluntarily) – event@edelstamprize.org by November 4th.
Program
09.30
Introduction by the seminar’s moderator, Ms. Caroline Edelstam, President of the Edelstam Foundation.
Interview with the Edelstam Prize Laureate 2014 (to be announced on the 4th of November and the prize is awarded on the 11th of November).
Interview with Dr. Carlos Castresana-Fernandez, Board Member of the Edelstam Foundation and former Head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) from 2007 to 2010. CICIG was created in 2007 as an agreement etween the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala. Mr. Castresana initiated the lawsuit before the Spanish Audiencia Nacional that brought Pinochet to justice.
10.30
Coffee Break.
10.45
Interview with Dr. Brian Palmer, Board Member of the Edelstam Foundation and social anthropologist teaching about civic courage at Uppsala University; he previously held the Torgny Segerstedt Guest Professorship at Gothenburg University and before that was Lecturer at Harvard University.
Interview with Ambassador Ewa Werner-Dahlin, former Swedish Ambassador to Guatemala 2006-2010.
11.15
Closing Remarks by Ambassador Hans Corell, Board Member of the Edelstam Foundation and former Swedish Judge of Appeal and former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations.
Followed by questions.
11.45
Lunch with the Laureate in the cafeteria (all attendees buy their own lunch).
The Edelstam Prize
The Edelstam Prize is a Sweden-based international award, administrated by the Harald Edelstam Foundation. The Edelstam Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in the defense of human rights.
The Edelstam Prize is named after, and awarded in the memory of, the Swedish diplomat and ambassador, Harald Edelstam (1913-1989). Harald Edelstam distinguished himself as diplomat by his professional competence, bravery and civic courage in the fight for human rights. He was an early proponent and symbol of what is today known as the ”Responsibility to Protect” and his memorable acts contributed to saving more than a thousand lives.
The winner of the Edelstam Prize can be a private person or a person who serves in government, international or national organisations. The winner shall be an individual who has acted in Ambassador Harald Edelstam’s spirit in a country/countries where human rights, according to international law, have been violated. The laureate must have shown outstanding capabilities in analysing and handling complex situations and in finding ways, even unconventional and creative ones, to defend human rights. The candidate has, presumably in a complex situation, been able to take a decisive role in helping threatened people or directly saving human lives. Civic courage is a central parameter in the selection of the prizewinner.
The Jury
The international jury is chaired by Ms. Caroline Edelstam, Harald Edelstam’s granddaughter and co-founder of the Edelstam Foundation. Other members of the jury are Justice Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Nobel Peace Prize winner Judge Shirin Ebadi, Dr. Pascoal Mocumbi, former Prime Minister of Mozambique (1994-2004), Professor Philip Alston, UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and former Judge Baltasar Garzón, who served on Spain’s central criminal court, who is known for having indicted the Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet for the deaths and torture of thousands of victims from Chile and other countries.
The seminar is sponsored by:
FÄRGFABRIKEN
The Edelstam Prize
The Edelstam Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary award, administrated by the Harald Edelstam Foundation. The Edelstam Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in standing up for one’s beliefs in the Defence of Human Rights.
The Edelstam Prize is named after, and awarded in the memory of, the Swedish diplomat and Ambassador, Harald Edelstam (1913-1989). Harald Edelstam distinguished himself as diplomat by his professional competence, his bravery and his civic courage in the fight for Human Rights. He was an early proponent and symbol of what is today known as the ”Responsibility to Protect” and his memorable acts contributed to save more than a thousand lives.
The Jury
The international jury is chaired by Caroline Edelstam, Harald Edelstam’s granddaughter and co-founder of the Harald Edelstam Foundation. Justice Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights represents the North Americas, Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 2003, Judge Shirin Ebadi, represents Asia; Africa is represented by Dr. Pascoal Mocumbi, former Prime Minister of Mozambique (1994-2004). Professor Philip Alston, UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, represents Oceania. Europe is represented by Judge Baltasar Garzón, who served on Spain’s central criminal court and who is consistently fighting for Human Rights. Baltasar Garzón is most famous for indicating the Chilenean president, General Augusto Pinochet for the alleged deaths and torture of Spanish citizens.
The Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee is chaired by Ambassador Jan Axel Nordlander, Sweden’s former Ambassador for Human Rights, and on the Committee is also Professor Sadiq Jalal Al-Azm, a prominent philosopher of Syrian origin striving for intellectual freedom and freedom of speech, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, United Nations former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Deputy Tucapel Jiménez, member of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies’ Commission for Human Rights, Ms. Silvia Escobar, Spain’s Ambassador for Human Rights and former Chair of Amnesty Spain, and Professor Yash Gai, scholar within constitutional law and the head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal and former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cambodia on Human Rights. On the committee is also Mr. Lee Cheuk-yan, who is the General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, and the chairman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.
