Amnesty International USA has launched the call for nominations for its 2011 Ginetta Sagan Award for Women’s and Children’s Rights. The award is “is to recognize and assist women who are working to protect the liberty and lives of women and children in areas where human rights violations are widespread. The 2011 award will be given to a woman who works on behalf of the human rights of women and children.” It not only provides recognition but also serves as a beacon of hope for other women working for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.
The Ginetta Sagan Award recognizes outstanding achievement, often at great personal risk; enhances the recipient’s ability to live and work freely, and protects the recipient’s capacity to continue her work, by bringing a new level of international attention to her accomplishments and the obstacles she faces; and brings increased international scrutiny to the crisis, region or issue for which the recipient works.
The nominee should be the founder and/or executive director of an organization; she should be under threat due to her activism; she should have been proven to be effective at addressing human rights issues; should have brought about significant change in her country, region or issue through her work; and she should not be a political party leader or government official/employee.
The Award carries a cash amount of $10,000 which will be presented at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Amnesty International USA.
The deadline to submit nominations is 1 October 2011. Nomination guidelines and the nomination form can be downloaded from this link.