People
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Shirin Ebadi
Excerpts From Shirin Ebadi’s 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture I feel extremely honoured that today my voice is reaching the people of the world from this distinguished venue. This great honour has been bestowed upon me by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. I salute the spirit of Alfred Nobel and hail all true followers of his…
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Oscar Arias Sánchez
Interview With Kerry Kennedy Three billion people live in tragic poverty, and forty thousand children die each day from diseases that could be prevented. In a world that presents such a dramatic struggle between life and death, the decisions we make about how to conduct our lives, about the kind of people we want to…
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Juan Mendez
Biography: From the time that he worked as a lawyer in Argentina in the early 1970s helping to build the modern human rights movement, Juan Méndez created a road map for others to follow in defending political cases. When he was detained by the brutal Argentine security forces, his family moved quickly to demand his…
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Samuel Kofi Woods
Biography: Founding director of the foremost human rights organization in Liberia, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Sam Woods managed on a shoestring budget to write and distribute to the international community reliable reports of abuses in the midst of a brutal civil war. His work led to the liberation of more than fifty inmates…
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Jamie Prieto Mendez
Biography: Jaime Prieto Mendez is one of the leading figures in the Colombian human rights movement, serving from 1990 to 1998 as executive director of the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners, the most effective advocates in the country for those imprisoned for political beliefs. For most of the past fifty years, Colombia has been…
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Vera Stremkovskaya
Biography: Belarus was formed in 1988 after the fall of the USSR. As a founding member and former president of the Center for Human Rights in Belarus, Vera Stremkovskaya was one of that country’s most respected legal practitioners, known for her willingness to take up the defense of politically unpopular clients. In retaliation, she has…
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Bobby Muller
Biography: In 1969, Lieutenant Bobby Muller led an assault up a hill in Vietnam until a bullet hit his back and severed his spinal cord. Miraculously, Muller survived. But the real misery didn’t begin until Muller returned to the United States and was confined to a decrepit veteran’s hospital. During his first year, eight people…
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Raji Sourani
Biography: Raji Sourani is Gaza’s foremost human rights lawyer, and the founder and director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and former director of the Gaza Center for Rights and Law. In the 1980s, Sourani was widely recognized for his effective defense of Palestinians before the Israeli military courts. In connection with his defense…
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Martin O’Brien
Biography: Martin O’Brien was the Country Representative for Northern Ireland and the Director of the Reconciliation & Human Rights Programme for Atlantic Philanthropies. This grantmaking program works actively to bring about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa and the United States by…
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Hayathe Ayeva
Forced marriages, early pregnancies and juvenile delinquency, notably in rural areas of Africa, constitute barriers for young people to pursue their education and contribute to the development of their communities. While it is in their families and schools that they should find help, education and support, these spaces are usually congested with taboos, stereotypes and…
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Lakshita Kanhiya
From the shadows of discrimination, Lakshita Kanhiya emerged as a beacon of resilience and justice. Her early encounters with systemic bias fueled her passion to stand as a human rights advocate, dedicated to dismantling discrimination and violence against sexual and gender minorities. She turned adversity into an unyielding commitment for a more inclusive world. Robert…
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Emma Lembke
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Emma Lembke grew up in an environment with two older siblings, where she was taught that her voice should be heard in times of distress. With a natural inclination to explore and listen to stories, Emma early on recognized the power of online platforms’ navigation in connecting people from…
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