Voices for Justice

Meet the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism Recipients

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  Each year the Voices for Justice Annual Dinners honor human rights defenders from around the world with our highest tribute, the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. The award is named after Dr. Alison Des Forges, senior adviser to Human Rights Watch's Africa division for almost two decades, who died in a plane crash in New York on February 12, 2009. Des Forges was the leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath. Human Rights Watch's annual award commemorates her outstanding commitment to, and defense of, human rights. It celebrates the valor of people who put their lives on the line to protect the dignity and rights of others.

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  © 2017 Ann Lang Mun Co

  “The best model for an empowered community is for each individual to leverage her power to promote and protect the others”

  Hala Al-Dosari, a Saudi human rights activist, scholar, and writer who is best known for speaking out against the country’s deeply entrenched discrimination against women and girls.

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  © 2017 Alexey Spirin

  “One can win 100 routine legal cases and still be unable to change the evils of the system. But for those who work on human rights cases, there are chances to change many things. To be a human rights defending attorney is a great privilege and a great responsibility, too.”

  Ivan Pavlov, a lawyer and activist who has dedicated his career to defending people accused of high treason and espionage in Russia.