2018 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic: Call for Applications

This Prize, created in 1988, is awarded in recognition and support for the completion of individual or collective projects carried out in the field, in France or abroad, regardless of nationality or borders, working to promote and protect human rights

In 2018, the year marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders , the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights chose to honour personalities and the organizations renowned in their country, for the defence and the promotion of human rights, particularly those that are harassed or persecuted for these reasons.
The non-governmental organizations or individual candidates, regardless of nationality or borders, are required to submit an application presenting their actions, conducted in France or abroad, for the promotion or protection of human rights and the project they would like to accomplish.

Reward the commitment and the actions of human rights defenders.

The expression “human rights defender” designates anyone who individually and in association with others is working to promote or protect human rights. Article 1 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/144 adopted on 9 December 1998) provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”.

A human rights defender is someone who defends any basic right in their own name or in the name of another person or group of persons. Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights as well as the promotion, protection and realisation of economic, social and cultural rights and collective rights.

Any individual or non-government organization that takes action to promote the defenders’ cause may submit an application. Any person or association who is in charge of protecting the rights of certain categories of persons, for example women, children, indigenous peoples, refugees, and displaced persons and national, linguistic or sexual minorities.

Although the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders does not define the special qualification required to be a human rights defender – everyone may be a defender if they so wish and act as such – it does affirm in no unclear terms that defenders have a number of responsibilities which candidates must fulfil:

• Human rights defenders must accept the universality of human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Human rights defenders must conduct non-violent actions in order to conform with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

Five prize winners will be invited to Paris for the official ceremony. They will receive a medal and share a total sum of €70,000, awarded by the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights and to be used to implement their projects.
Five runners-up will be awarded a “special mention” medal by the French ambassador in their country of origin.

Applications must comply with the prize regulations. The prize regulations are available upon request, and can also be found online at: www.cncdh.fr

The application, which must be written in French, must include:

• A letter of application presented and signed by the president or legal representative of the NGO concerned, or by the individual candidate.
• The application form, which is attached to this call for applications and can be downloaded from the CNCDH website: http://www.cncdh.fr/fr/prix/prix-des-droits-de-lhomme.
• This application presents, in detail, the actions conducted by the human rights defender, association or individual personality.
• A presentation of the NGO concerned (statutes, operations, etc.), where appropriate.
• The postal address and bank details of the NGO or the individual candidate.

Candidates must submit their complete application, before the deadline of 15 October 2018, to the Secretariat- General of the Commission:
 TSA 40 720 – 20 avenue de Ségur, 75 007 PARIS – France
 or by email to: cncdh@cncdh.pm.gouv.fr
Or via email to: oea.washington-dfra@diplomatie.gouv.fr

Once the panel has announced the results, the 2018 Prize will be awarded in Paris by the Prime Minister, around 10 December 2018.

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