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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANE WINTER WINS
PRESTIGIOUS BEACON PRIZE
IN
RECOGNITION OF HER WORK WITH BRITISH IRISH RIGHTS WATCH
British Irish Rights Watch Director, Jane Winter, has won the 2007 Beacon Prize for Northern Ireland in recognition of her dedication to the promotion of human rights.
Jane founded British Irish Rights Watch [1] in 1990 and worked on an entirely voluntary level until 1995, when she became the Director. Since then, the organisation has become internationally respected for the quality of its work. Jane and British Irish Rights Watch have had a real impact on the human rights situation in Northern Ireland, contributing to the eradication of human rights abuses such as the ill-treatment of detainees in custody and the abuse and intimidation of defence lawyers. Jane was instrumental in bringing about the second public Bloody Sunday inquiry, and has tirelessly campaigned for an investigation into the murders of Rosemary Nelson, Billy Wright, Robert Hamill and Patrick Finucane. The Beacon Award acknowledges Jane’s willingness to fight for an unpopular cause and her ability to command the confidence and respect of a wide range of people from all sides of the community in Northern Ireland.
The Beacon Award will be presented at a formal prize ceremony later today, when all winners will be inaugurated as Beacon Fellows, a community of Beacon Prize winners who together champion charitable causes across the globe and nurture a wider culture of giving in the UK. Jane Winter said “I am very honoured to receive this award. I should like to thank those who nominated me, the staff at British Irish rights watch, the Management Committee, and those who fund us, all of whom contributed to my winning the Beacon Prize. Above all, I should like to pay tribute to the people of Northern Ireland, without whom BIRW would not exist, and from whom I have learned so much.”
Notes for editors
[1] British Irish Rights Watch is an independent non-governmental organisation that has been monitoring the human rights dimension of the conflict, and the peace process, in Northern Ireland since 1990. Our services are available, free of charge, to anyone whose human rights have been violated because of the conflict, regardless of religious, political or community affiliations. We take no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of the conflict.
For further information, contact Jane Winter or Lucy Claridge on 0208 772 9161.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
