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press release
for immediate release
british irish rights watch wins prestigious human rights prize
British Irish rights watch has become the first human rights group to win the new and prestigious Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Human Rights Prize, which is awarded for “outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe”.
British Irish RIGHTS WATCH (BIRW) 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 vision is of a Northern Ireland in which respect for human rights is integral to all its institutions and experienced by all who live there. Our mission is to secure respect for human rights in Northern Ireland and to disseminate the human rights lessons learned from the Northern Ireland conflict in order to promote peace, reconciliation and the prevention of conflict. BIRW’s 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. BIRW takes no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of the conflict.
The PACE prize was given for BIRW’s “courageous and outstanding work in monitoring and bringing to light human rights abuses, and its fight against impunity in Northern Ireland”. The panel of leading human rights experts who judged the prize also commended the BIRW’s “vigilance” in ensuring that measures taken to combat terrorism were in conformity with international human rights standards.
Jane Winter, BIRW’s Director, said, “We are delighted and honoured to receive this distinguished award. There are many human rights lessons to be learned from Northern Ireland, and this recognition of the importance of our work by the Council of Europe is very welcome at a time when recent violence has overshadowed the overwhelming desire for peace in Northern Ireland.”
Helen Shaw, BIRW’s Chair, said, “I congratulate the dedicated staff team and all those associated with British Irish rights watch in achieving this accolade for their work over nearly two decades with victims of human rights abuses from all sides of the community in Northern Ireland. It is fitting testament to their unwavering commitment to upholding human rights and very well deserved.”
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notes for editors
1. For further information, please contact Helen Shaw on 07976787840.
2. BIRW was nominated for the PACE Human Rights Prize by:
Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers; The Honourable Peter Carteret Cory, former head of the Collusion Inquiry; Michael Posner, President, Human Rights First; Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws QC; Michael Mansfield QC; Professor Colin Harvey, Head of School of Law, Human Rights Centre, Queen's University of Belfast; Professor Conor Gearty, Director of Centre for the Study of Human Rights, London School of Economics & Political Science; Geraldine Finucane, widow of Patrick Finucane; Michael Ritchie, Director, Committee on the Administration of Justice; Sarah Cooke, OBE, Human Rights Consultant
3. The selection panel is composed of:
Lluís Maria de Puig, President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly; Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; Serhiy Holovaty, Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee; Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International; Pieter van Dijk, member of the Netherlands Council of State and former judge at the European Court of Human Rights; Marek Nowicki, human rights lawyer and former International Ombudsperson in Kosovo; Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, President of the Association “Peace Women Across the Globe” and former member of the Swiss Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly.
4. Link to the PACE Human Rights Prize website:
http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Search/PACEWebItemLast_E.asp
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
