Ambassador of conscience

Ambassador of Conscience Award ( English Ambassador of Conscience ) is the highest award that the human rights organization Amnesty International gives.

The undoped prize has been awarded since 2003 to personalities who have made a name for themselves through “exceptional leadership style and commitment in the fight for the protection and promotion of human rights ”. It aims to raise awareness for the work of Amnesty International and to honor the life and work of its “ambassadors” who “inspire the world through their work and example”.

The prize was initiated by the poem From the Republic of Conscience , which the Irish Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney wrote especially for the human rights organization. The first prize winner was the Czech author and former President Václav Havel .

Art for Amnesty , a loose association of international artists who campaign for human rights around the world, is responsible for selecting the winners . Art for Amnesty also organizes the annual award ceremony and appoints the laudator .

Award winners

First prize winner 2003: Václav Havel

Prize winner 2016: Angélique Kidjo

2003 - Václav Havel , former President of the Czech Republic
2004 - Mary Robinson , former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights , and Hilda Morales Trujillo , human rights activist from Guatemala
2005 - U2 , Irish rock band; together with her manager Paul McGuinness
2006 - Nelson Mandela , former President of the Republic of South Africa
2007 - not awarded
2008 - Peter Gabriel , British musician and human rights activist
2009 - Aung San Suu Kyi , politician from Myanmar (disqualified in 2018)
2013 - Malala Yousafzai , Pakistani blogger and child rights activist , and Harry Belafonte , American singer , actor and entertainer
2015 - Joan Baez , American musician and human rights activist, and Ai Weiwei , Chinese artist
2016 - Angélique Kidjo , Beninese singer and songwriter; Lutte pour le changement , youth movement from the Congo; Le Balai Citoyen , grassroots movement from Burkina Faso; Y'en a Marre , Senegalese rappers and journalists
2017 - Alicia Keys , American musician, and Indigenous peoples in Canada , Canadian human rights movement
2018 - Colin Kaepernick , American football player, for his protest against racism in the National Football League
2019 - Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future

Individual evidence

^ Daw Aung San Suu Kyi named Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience. In: amnesty.org. July 28, 2009, accessed February 24, 2019 .
↑ Amnesty International honors Suu Kyi with the "Ambassador of Conscience" award. In: amnesty.de. July 27, 2009, accessed February 24, 2019 .
^ Ambassador of Conscience Award. In: amnesty.org. Retrieved February 24, 2019 .
^ Amnesty International withdraws human rights award from Aung San Suu Kyi. In: amnesty.org. November 12, 2018, accessed February 24, 2019 .
↑ Protest on knees: Amnesty honors US football star - news.ORF.at. In: orf.at. April 22, 2018, accessed February 24, 2019 .
^ Climate activists Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement honored with top Amnesty International award. Amnesty International , June 7, 2019, accessed June 7, 2019 .

Web links

[1] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi named Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience. In: amnesty.org. July 28, 2009, accessed February 24, 2019 .

[2] Amnesty International honors Suu Kyi with the "Ambassador of Conscience" award. In: amnesty.de. July 27, 2009, accessed February 24, 2019 .

[3] Ambassador of Conscience Award. In: amnesty.org. Retrieved February 24, 2019 .

[4] Amnesty International withdraws human rights award from Aung San Suu Kyi. In: amnesty.org. November 12, 2018, accessed February 24, 2019 .

[5] Protest on knees: Amnesty honors US football star - news.ORF.at. In: orf.at. April 22, 2018, accessed February 24, 2019 .

[6] Climate activists Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement honored with top Amnesty International award. Amnesty International , June 7, 2019, accessed June 7, 2019 .