Ambassador of Conscience Award
The Ambassador of Conscience Award, now in its sixth year, recognizes exceptional leadership and witness in the fight to protect and promote human rights.
The Award -- inspired by a poem written for Amnesty International by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney -- aims to promote the work of the organization by association with the life, work and example of its 'Ambassadors', who have done much to inspire the world through their work and personal example. » 2009 Ambassador of Conscience Award announced
AWARD RECIPIENTS
2009 - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the Myanmar opposition party the National League for Democracy, and has been detained for over 13 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest. Her house detention order was set to expire on 27 May 2009, but she was arrested and placed on trial on 18 May. Over 2,100 other people are currently imprisoned in Myanmar for their political beliefs and should be freed. » Learn more about Aung San Suui Kyi
2008 - Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel organized the Human Rights Now! Tour, which took place in 1988 with Amnesty International. In 1989, having met many human rights victims who were unable top have their stories told and dealt with he proposed creating an organisation that would give cameras and computers to human rights activists. This became Witness.org and was founded with the Reebok Human Rights foundation and Human Rights First. The Hub has just been launched, providing a platform for human rights video from all over the world (a kind of YouTube for Human Rights). He also co-founded the Elders.org with Richard Branson, which Nelson Mandela launched in 2007. » Learn more about Peter Gabriel
2006 - Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is the former President of South Africa. In the canon of human conscience he is surely the most famously revered in the contemporary world. In the 20th Century he was one of the few who, in contrast with those who made it infamous for fascism, racism, dictatorship and war, marked the era as one that achieved some human advancement. That is the context in which his name will live in history, beyond the new millennium. Nelson Mandela belongs to the world. » Learn more about Nelson Mandela
2005 - U2
U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. They have always been about much more than just music. They have used their music and their celebrity to full effect not only in the ‘civil and political’ sphere but also in the ‘economic, social and cultural’ sphere. They are champions of Amnesty but also Greenpeace, and through their involvement with DATA and The One Campaign they have brought the issues of debt, aids and trade, particularly as they affect Africa, to the world’s attention and kept them there. They have shown that it is not good enough to leave it to the politicians' and the ‘traditional’ world leaders to make a difference. They have empowered and inspired millions of people with their music, their example and their activism. » Learn more about U2
2004 - Mary Robinson & Hilda Morales Trujillo
Mary Robinson is the former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. As President of Ireland Mary Robinson stretched the boundaries of the Presidency to fit her concerns, one of the most prominent of which was human rights. She made trips to places like Somalia and Rwanda, and in the Great Lakes region of Africa she coined the memorable phrase, "the cycle of impunity," to describe the process by which leaving mass murder unpunished encouraged others to do the same. » Learn more about Mary Robinson
Hilda Morales Trujillo is a Guatemalan women's rights activist. A member of the 'National Womens Office' (ONAM) and the 'Network against Violence against Women', Hilda Morales Trujillo has spent her life tirelessly defending the rights of women by challenging discriminatory laws and campaigning for change. » Learn more about Hilda Morales Truillo
2003 - Václav Havel
Václav Havel is the former President of the Czech Republic. What is most remarkable about the recipient of the first ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ Award is that he successfully and effortlessly made the transition from prisoner to president, from dissident to democratic leader, from playwright to player on the world stage – and in so doing never lowered his moral standards; never lost his sense of humour; or forgot the absurd situation in which he found himself. »Learn more about Václav Havel
