MONTREAL, Sept. 15, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - As part of the United Nations'
International Day of Democracy, Rights & Democracy is proud to present
this year's John Humphrey Award to Mr. Ales Michalevic, lawyer and
former presidential candidate in Belarus, a European country led by a
president often decried as "Europe's last dictator." Mr. Michalevic, a
presidential candidate in 2010, has since been arrested, tortured,
released, and driven into political exile; he is now forced to pursue
his work outside of Belarus and is the only one to do so since most of
his colleagues are in jail. The international jury of Rights &
Democracy wanted to acknowledge the courage, determination and
perseverance shown by Mr. Michalevic. The John Humphrey Award, created
in 1992 is presented annually to an organization or individual for
their outstanding contribution to the promotion of human rights and
democratic development. It will be officially presented to Mr.
Michalevic during a ceremony in Ottawa in November.
Being an experienced lawyer and having an interest in political and
civic activities, Mr. Michalevic embarked on his presidential run in
November 2010 with the aim, among others, of promoting democracy and
establishing the rule of law in a country renowned for being
undemocratic by several governments, including Canada's. After the
election of December 19th 2010, more than 600 people, including Mr. Michalevic, were arrested on
arbitrary grounds. After two months of imprisonment, he was released
and immediately denounced the conditions of his detention, including
acts of torture which he had suffered. Led by President Alexander
Lukashenka with an iron fist, Belarus ranks poorly in terms of freedom
of the press (154th of 178 countries according to Reporters Without Borders) and democratic development (130th of 167 countries according to the Democracy Index of The Economist), and remains the only European country that maintains the death
penalty.
The country's situation and Mr. Michalevic's personal story drew great
interest from the award's international jury presided by the Chairman
of Rights & Democracy's Board of Directors, Mr. Aurel Braun. "The
selection committee was particularly impressed with the courage
demonstrated by Mr. Michalevic, not only by defending the democratic
rights of his fellow citizens in the face of a morally bankrupt regime,
but also by his willingness, at great risk to its person, to
participate in the electoral process," said Mr. Braun. "Rights &
Democracy wants to acknowledge the work that was accomplished and bring
support to his actions in seeking real progress in the struggle to make
Belarus into a free and open democracy."
The John Humphrey Award's 20th presentation ceremony will be followed by a tour of major Canadian
cities where Mr. Michalevic will be invited to speak with Canadians
about his work and actions to demand the release of his colleagues
still imprisoned in Belarus. For more information, visit our website at
http://www.dd-rd.ca and Mr. Michalevic's website at http://www.michalevic.org.
2011 marks the 20th year Rights & Democracy (the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development)
proudly presents the John Humphrey Award to an organization or
individual from any region of the world including Canada for
outstanding achievement in the promotion of democratic development or
respect for human rights. The Award consists of a $30,000 grant and a
speaking tour of Canadian cities to increase public awareness of the
laureate's work. The award is named in honour of the late John Peters
Humphrey, the Canadian law professor who prepared the first draft of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
About Rights & Democracy
The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
(Rights & Democracy), is a non-profit non-partisan organization created
by Canada's Parliament in 1988 to encourage and support the universal
values of human rights and the promotion of democratic institutions and
practices around the world.
