The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for 2018 was awarded to Asma Jahangir from Pakistan, Rebecca Gyumi from Tanzania, Joênia Wapichana from Brazil, and Front Line Defenders, from Ireland. According to the UN website, the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights is an honorary award given to individuals and organizations in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights. It is awarded once in five years and was established in 1966.
Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani human rights activist, was posthumously awarded the prestigious prize. She has long been known as a torchbearer for the rights of women, minorities, children, and the poor. She held many notable positions in her illustrious career – she was the first Chairperson of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission and was the first female President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.
Rebeca Gyumi is the Founder and Executive Director of Msichana Initiative, a Tanzanian organization that works towards the empowerment of girls, primarily through education.
Joênia Wapichana is an activist for the rights of indigenous communities from Brazil. She herself is the first woman indigenous lawyer in Brazil and a member of the Wapichana tribe of northern Brazil.
Front Line Defenders or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a human rights organization founded in Dublin, Ireland in 2001, to protect human rights defenders at risk.
