West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire has added her signature in support of giving Malala Yousafzai a top European Union Human Rights Prize.

The Sakharov Prize is intended to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression. Like Andrei Sakharov himself, all the winners of the prize have shown how much courage it takes to defend human rights and freedom of expression.

The We Demand a Referendum Now MEP, who is a member of the European Union’s Human Rights committee, has added her name to show support and recognition for the work Ms Yousefzai has done in the field of Human Rights, particularly her work in education rights and women’s rights.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP said,

“One of the most important and fundamental human rights is the right to an education and Malala has shown the upmost bravery and courage in standing up for those rights and highlighting them across the world.

It’s an honour to be able to support her nomination for The Sakharov Prize. Malala now lives in my constituency of the West Midlands and has become an adopted Brummie, and I know Birmingham and the wider area is very proud to have her living here. It is privilege to represent her as a Member of European Parliament.

Many people know me as an impassioned Eurosceptic, but I am also passionate about the human rights of those around the world. I have visited prisoners of Conscience in Bahrain, campaigned for the missing people of Cyprus and continue to highlight the struggles of the people of Kashmir”.

Nominations for Sakharov Prize can be made by political groups or at least 40 MEPs. The Foreign Affairs and Development committees vote on a shortlist of three finalists based on the nominations and later the Conference of Presidents chooses one Laureate.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. The prize was set up in 1988 to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Parliament awards the human rights prize, endowed with 50,000, at a formal sitting held in Strasbourg on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948.

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