MINSK, 3 November (BelTA) – The ceremony to present the third international human rights award “For peace and human rights” took place in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
The award “For peace and human rights” has been established by the Emil Czeczko International Charitable Foundation and is presented every year. The main criteria for presenting the award are the laureate’s considerable contribution to enhancing human rights in the world and protecting them, public recognition of the laureate’s accomplishments in protecting human rights, and the social significance of the efforts. Reporters, activists, politicians, and cultural figures from Russia, Poland, Germany, France, and Slovakia have been awarded this year.
“Today you have presented eight awards. It is the third time the ceremony has taken place. The level of organization gets higher every time. The people we have honored are extremely deserving individuals. They have proven it with their efforts,” said Dmitry Belyakov, Director of the Systemic Human Rights Center, Chairman of the Board of the Emil Czeczko International Charitable Foundation. He added that the award is virtually a gold medal in the field of defense of human rights.
According to Dmitry Belyakov, the event is divided into two days. “Very interesting reports will be presented tomorrow. I can announce that a high-ranking government official from Iran is expected to make a speech via video conference. Among other things our guests will touch upon the defense of children’s rights in various countries. We have many speakers and reports,” he remarked.
The laureates include Jürgen Elsässer, Editor-in-Chief of the German magazine Compact. “Today the world is once again on the brink of a major catastrophe. And regretfully Germany is once again in the front ranks of what is going on,” Jürgen Elsässer stressed.
He noted that the magazine represents the opinion of those, who want peace, not war. “You need to differentiate between the political leadership and the ordinary people of Germany. The current chancellor Friedrich Merz is drunk with the war. But ordinary people in Germany want to be friends with Russia, with Belarus, and with countries of the East as a whole,” the German reporter is convinced.
He has faced reprisals in Germany due to his stance. “In summer 2024 the German Ministry of the Interior banned our magazine. Our office was searched. We sued the government. The litigation lasted for a year. This year we have won the case, we have defended our position but it was complicated. There are very strong reprisals in Germany,” Jürgen Elsässer concluded.
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