[COLPI-SLClinics] Colombian Human Rights Defender wins Martin Ennals Award

EMBARGO: 5 December 2002, 10.00 GMT

Colombian Human Rights Defender wins 10th edition of most prestigious award
of human rights movement, the MEA

The Martin Ennals Foundation announced today that Alirio Uribe Mun~oz, of
the Collective Jose Alvear Restrepo (Colombia), has been selected as the
winner of the 2003 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA).

Alirio Uribe, who works since more than 10 years for the victims of human
rights violations, said that this great honor "belongs foremost to all the
human rights defenders (HRDs) in Colombia who struggle in the hope that
their country will one day come out of the crisis in which it now finds
itself". The award is a clear message of recognition and hope for all the
human rights defenders, who - like Alirio - risk their lives every day in
denouncing grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law and by
fighting against impunity that is rampant in their country.

In Colombia, 10 members of non-governmental organisations and 150 trade
unionists have been murdered in 2001; 90% of these crimes have been
committed by para-military groups, whose collusion with the armed forces
has on many occasions been demonstrated by intergovernmental and
international human rights organisations, and the other 10% by the rebels,
the army or other armed groups. The work of HRDs is indispensable in the
light of massive violations of human rights: in 2001 alone, there were 3366
political killings, 775 cases of disappearances and over 300.000 forced
displacements, while the situation during 2002 continued to deteriorate
(Figures from presentation by Colombian NGOs to UN Rapporteur Hina Jilani
at the end of 2001).

The award ceremony will be on 31 March 2003 in Geneva, broadcast live by
Swiss Television. Barbara Hendricks will participate and sing, while the UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, has agreed
to hand over the award.

The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique
collaboration among ten of the world's leading non-governmental human
rights organizations. The Jury is composed of the following: Amnesty
International, Defence for Children, German Diakonia, Human Rights Watch,
HURIDOCS, International Alert, International Commission of Jurists,
International Federation for Human Rights, International Service for Human
Rights and World Organisation Against Torture.

The MEA, created in 1993, is granted annually to an individual or an
organization who has displayed exceptional courage in combating human
rights violations. Since its beginning, the MEA is hosted by the HURIDOCS
Secretariat.

The award of 20,000 CHF is given to further human rights work. The previous
9 recipients of the MEA are: Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad (2002); Peace
Brigades International, Immacule'e Birhaheka, DRC; Natasa Kandic,
Yugoslavia; Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine; Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Mexico; Clement
Nwankwo, Nigeria; Asma Jahangir, Pakistan; Harry Wu, China (1994).

Martin Ennals (1927-1991) was instrumental to the modern human rights
movement. A fiercely devoted activist, he creatively pursued ideas ahead of
his time as the first Secretary-General of Amnesty International and the
driving force behind many other organisations. His deep desire was to see
more cooperation and solidarity among NGOs: the MEA is evidence that this
is possible.

For more information on the MEA: www.martinennalsaward.org.

Geneva, 5/12/02





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