United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights


The United Nations Prizes in the Field of Human Rights were instituted by United Nations General Assembly in 1966. They are intended to "honour and commend people and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other United Nations human rights instruments".
The UN first awarded the prize to six recipients at a ceremony on 10 December 1968the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the UN has designated Human Rights Day. They have been given out at five-year intervals since then, with the exception of 1983, to individuals, groups and organizations., 64 awards have been presented, including nine awards presented posthumously.
The recipients are selected by a committee composed of the presidents of the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council and the UN Human Rights Council, and the chairs of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council. Since 1998, the awards are announced by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was created a few days after the 1993 ceremony.
The physical token of the award is a metal plaque bearing the UN seal and an artistic design, and engraved with an appropriate citation. In contrast to the Nobel prizeswhose list of prizewinners of the Nobel Peace Prize shares much common ground with the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rightsthe UN's awards are non-monetary in nature.

1968 Prizewinners

FIRST AWARD: December 1968 – 20th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
SECOND AWARD: December 1973 – 25th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
THIRD AWARD: December 1978 – 30th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
FOURTH AWARD: December 1988 – 40th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
  • Baba Amte, human rights lawyer
  • John Peters Humphrey, principal drafter of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • , president of the Supreme Court
  • Leonidas Proaño, Roman Catholic bishop
  • Nelson Mandela, lawyer and statesman
  • Winnie Mandela, medical social worker

    1993 Prizewinners

FIFTH AWARD: December 1993 – 45th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
SIXTH AWARD: December 1998 – 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
  • Sunila Abeysekera, executive director of INFORM
  • Angelina Acheng Atyam, founder of the Concerned Parents Association
  • Jimmy Carter, statesman and former president
  • José Gregori, inaugural Secretary, National Human Rights Secretariat
  • Anna Šabatová, founder of Charter 77
  • All human rights defenders, "thousands of courageous individuals worldwide"

    2003 Prizewinners

SEVENTH AWARD: December 2003 – 55th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
EIGHTH AWARD: December 2008 – 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
NINTH AWARD: December 2013 – 65th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
TENTH AWARD: December 2018 – 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
ELEVENTH AWARD: December 2023:
  • Viasna Human Rights Centre, Belarus
  • Julienne Lusenge, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Amman Center for Human Rights Studies, Jordan
  • Julio Pereyra Sánchez, Uruguay
  • Global Coalition of Civil Society Organizations, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment