We Congratulate : The 2014 Right Livelihood Award Laureates

Edward Snowden (USA) and Alan Rusbridger (UK) receive a joint Honorary Award. Three more awards go to Asma Jahangir (Pakistan), Basil Fernando / Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong, China), and Bill McKibben / 350.org (USA).

Written statements:

Basil Fernando published an article on the AHRC website.
350.org issued a press release.
Asma Jahangir's reaction to the Award.
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The Laureates

Basil Fernando / AHRC (Hong Kong SAR, China)
“… for his tireless and outstanding work to support and document the implementation of human rights in Asia.”

Basil Fernando is a leading Asian human rights defender. In a career spanning three decades, he has been pivotal in linking ordinary citizens striving for human rights principles at the grassroots to institutions working for structural reform at the policy level. Fernando, and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that he led for nearly two decades, have developed one of the world’s most sophisticated “Urgent Appeals” systems. Through its Human Rights School and training initiatives, the AHRC has educated countless lawyers and activists on the principles of fair trial and the rule of law, thereby greatly advancing an Asian movement working towards the realisation of human rights for all.

“People want change. People demand that their human rights are respected by their governments, not by words but by genuine improvement of the public institutions; they want justice to be something real, tangible and accessible. A wise way to deal with this is for governments to facilitate these changes. This is the only way open to end violence and achieve peace in all parts of the world. More developed countries should demonstrate more wisdom by assisting such changes and not supporting repression.”
Basil Fernando

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Asma Jahangir (Pakistan)

“…for defending, protecting and promoting human rights in Pakistan and more widely, often in very difficult and complex situations and at great personal risk.”

Asma Jahangir is Pakistan’s leading human rights lawyer. For three decades, she has shown incredible courage in defending the most vulnerable Pakistanis – women, children, religious minorities and the poor. Having founded the first legal aid centre in Pakistan in 1986, Jahangir has courageously taken on very complicated cases and won. For her relentless campaigning against laws that discriminate against women, and for continuously speaking truth to power, Jahangir has been threatened, assaulted in public and placed under house arrest. She made history when she was elected as the first female President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan in 2010.

“Everyone is entitled to a dignified life and no society can advance unless the individuals within it are free from fear and can at least enjoy basic political rights.”
Asma Jahangir

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Bill McKibben / 350.org (USA)

“…for mobilising growing popular support in the USA and around the world for strong action to counter the threat of global climate change.”

Bill McKibben is one of the world’s leading environmentalists. He has been an influential author and educator for 30 years, and his 1989 book The End of Nature was one of the first-ever books written to inform a general audience about climate change. Over the last ten years he initiated and built the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement. With the organisation 350.org at its core, this movement has spread awareness and mobilised political support for urgent action to mitigate the climate crisis that is already unfolding.

“The climate fight is the first timed test humanity has faced; if we don't win quickly we won't win at all. It's the definition of urgent.”
Bill McKibben

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Alan Rusbridger (UK)
Joint Honorary Award with Edward Snowden
“… for building a global media organisation dedicated to responsible journalism in the public interest, undaunted by the challenges of exposing corporate and government malpractices.”

Alan Charles Rusbridger is a British journalist, author and editor of the Guardian, who has been setting benchmarks in journalism for many years. He oversaw the integration of the paper and digital operations, making the Guardian the second largest serious English-speaking newspaper website in the world and one of the most important sources for news on the global environment, development and human rights questions. During his editorship the paper has fought a number of high-profile battles over libel and press freedom, including cases involving Wikileaks and the News of the World phone hacking scandal. In 2013, Rusbridger played a leading role in publishing the surveillance revelations of Edward Snowden, persisting in this endeavour in the face of fierce government pressure.
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Edward Snowden (USA)
Joint Honorary Award with Alan Rusbridger
“... for his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights.”

Edward Snowden is an American technologist, and former CIA officer and NSA contractor. When he discovered classified evidence the U.S. government was, contrary to its public statements, secretly operating a global system of mass surveillance in violation of human rights standards and international law, he revealed it to the press, an act for which his home country is pursuing him on criminal charges. His actions have precipitated an intense global debate on privacy and surveillance. They have also led to historic rulings on privacy and to changes in policies and technologies. In the words of RLA Laureate Daniel Ellsberg, “Snowden has done more for our Constitution in terms of the Fourth and First Amendment than anyone else I know.”
“There is a huge difference between legal programs, legitimate spying ... and these programs of dragnet mass surveillance that put entire populations under an all-seeing eye and save copies forever ... These programs were never about terrorism: they’re about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation. They’re about power.”
Edward Snowden

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Sulak Sivaraksa won the award in 1995

Sulak Sivaraksa (Thailand)

"...for his vision, activism and spiritual commitment in the quest for a development process that is rooted in democracy, justice and cultural integrity."

About the Award 


The "Alternative Nobel Prize"

"The Right Livelihood Award honours and supports those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today. In many countries, the Award is often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize'."

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