Logo of the Franco-German Award for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website)

An award that recognizes each year personalities or institutions that have contributed exceptionally to the defense and advancement of human rights and the rule of law locally or internationally.

The award, awarded by the French and German foreign ministries, generally celebrates human rights defenders from around the world, the lawyers who defend them, and journalists who fight to spread the truth.

The prize was launched in 2016 and was announced in Berlin on December <> of the same year by then-French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his German counterpart at the time, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

France and Germany say that through this award, they want to show their support for the activities of human rights defenders and activists, and see it as a symbol of shared values.

They also affirm that through this award and other activities and events, they are working to mobilize their efforts to jointly defend human rights and the rule of law in the world, and encourage all States to abide by all the commitments they have undertaken in this field.

Honouring these human rights and freedom defenders is essential to sensitize public opinion, mobilize civil society associations, support victims of human rights violations, and pressure governments to respect their human rights obligations.

This award is received on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, which falls on December 10 of each year, and the winners are selected through a joint mechanism between the two countries, and at the proposal of their embassies around the world.

Raed Al-Saleh during his receipt of the German-French Award for Human Rights on behalf of the White Helmets in Syria (Al Jazeera Net-Archive)

2016 Award Winners

  • White Helmets (Syria)
  • Tamima Rahman (Bangladesh)
  • Oleg Gulak (Belarus)
  • Wang Qiaoling (China)
  • Mary Lawlure (Ireland)
  • Pietro Bartolo (Italy)
  • Eva Abu Halawa (Jordan)
  • Sarah Bilal (Pakistan)
  • Maria da Pena (Brazil)
  • Saray Thon (Cambodia)
  • Maximilien Ngo Mbe (Cameroon)
  • Beverly Jacobs (Canada)
  • Monserrat Solano Carboni (Costa Rica)
  • Sunita Krishan (India)
  • Valentina Cherifatenko (Russia)
  • Jacqueline Modena (Chad)

Kuwaiti civil society activist Abdullah Al-Khonaini received the award in 2017 (Kuwaiti Press)

2017 Award Winners

  • Adilur Rahman Khan (Bangladesh)
  • Nonugnon Palelebellas Gbagidi (Benin)
  • Gracia Violetta Ross Quiroga (Bolivia)
  • Ragia Omran (Egypt)
  • César Ricorte (Ecuador)
  • Abdullah Al-Khonaini (Kuwait)
  • Bekim Asani (Macedonia)
  • Mandira Sharma (Nepal)
  • Grass Osakyo (Nigeria)
  • Rosemary Tragano (Philippines)
  • Elena Milashina (Russia)
  • Sherine Abdul Sorour (Sri Lanka)
  • Cream Altibarmak (Russia)
  • Pavlo Lisyansky (Ukraine)
  • Lilena Ortega Mendoza (Venezuela)

2018 Award Winners

  • Mohamed Lotfy (Egypt)
  • Alfredo Okinfe (Equatorial Guinea)
  • Yu Finching (China)
  • Aminata Traoré (Ivory Coast)
  • Neetyanand Yayaraman (India)
  • Chuck Sofyab (Cambodia)
  • Hassan Sayyah Qurban (Lebanon)
  • Guaranteed Mint Brahim (Mauritania)
  • Daoud Nassar (Palestine)
  • Lise Chicakhi Shuray (Peru)
  • Ayoub Tetev (Russia)
  • Voisika Dubola Majula (South Africa)
  • Anwar al-Bunni (Syria)
  • Sirikan Charwinsiri (Thailand)
  • Susana Ravale Arismande (Venezuela)

2019 Award Winners

  • Alice Bialiatski (Belarus)
  • Li Wenzhou (China)
  • El Nadeem Center Against Violence and Torture (Egypt)
  • Ameeha Mekonnen Asfao (Ethiopia)
  • Rubin Chaurasia (India)
  • Nasrin Sotoudeh (Iran)
  • Amina Hanga (Nigeria)
  • Miloska del Carmen Luthquinos Tavor (Peru)
  • Mary Aileen Bacalso (Philippines)
  • Irina Beryukova (Russia)
  • Delphine Kemenellum Djeraibeh (Chad)
  • Asina Gunal (Turkey)
  • Luth Millie Reyes (Venezuela)
  • Phu Quoc Ngo (Vietnam)

Jordanian Hadeel Abdel Aziz receiving the Franco-German Award for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (German Embassy in Amman website)

2020 Award Winners

  • Sarah Sirat (Afghanistan)
  • Azza Soliman (Egypt)
  • Sergio Pichara (Londa)
  • Francisnara Suarez Martins (Brazil)
  • Li Yuhan (China)
  • Nagham Nouzet Hassan (Iraq)
  • Zoya Rohana (Lebanon)
  • Nayab Ali (Pakistan)
  • Issam Younis (Palestine)
  • Ayuri Dmitriev (Russia)
  • Matilda Tumey (Seychelles)
  • Maria Pattacueva (Slovakia)
  • Merikage Lorna Nanjia (South Sudan)

Jean-Marc Ayrault (right) and Frank-Walter Steinmeier launched the prize in 2016 (AP - Archive)

2021 Award Winners

  • Scheherazade Akbar (Afghanistan)
  • Shang Weibing (China)
  • Jacques Lutong (Haiti)
  • Christina Palapai (Philippines)
  • Nuela Godfrey Msuya (Tanzania)
  • Erika Lorena Davila (Guatemala)
  • Monica Borgmann (Germany/Lebanon)
  • Narges Mohammadi (Iran)
  • Nebaht Aküş (Turkey)
  • Provia Association (Venezuela)
  • Jack Abel (Nigeria)
  • Alexandrine Victoire Seizno (Benin)
  • Tabelo Times (South Africa)
  • Ajna Gosic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • Mae Sabi Bio (Myanmar)

2022 Award Winners

  • Mahsa Amini (Iran)
  • Megan Boho (Ivory Coast)
  • Jamila Ribeiro (Brazil)

Source : Websites