“Adopted
Brummie” Malala Yousefzai has won the European Union’s top Human Rights Prize.
West Midlands MEP Nikki
Sinclaire supported her nomination.
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 that I was 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 proudof her too. It
is privilege to represent her as a Member of European Parliament.
It’s an
even bigger delight that she has now won!
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.
