The Sakharov Prize for freedom of conscience, which is awarded each year by the European Parliament, has on this occasion singled out the Ukrainian people, "the Ukrainians who are fighting on the ground, those who have been forced to flee, those who have lost relatives and friends, to all those who stand up and fight for what they believe in", the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, announced today to the leaders of the institution's political groups. "I know that the brave people of Ukraine will not give up and neither will we," added Metsola, who highlighted the "ruthless" character of the regime they are fighting against, "which seeks to undermine our democracy, weaken and divide our Union."
The Ukrainian people, represented by their rulers and leaders of civil society, had been proposed as a candidate by the socialist group of the European Parliament and started as the favorite of this year's call, in which the Truth Commission of Ukraine had also been finalists. Colombia, which investigates the human rights violations committed during the armed conflict, and Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks. The winning nomination highlights the efforts of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the role of private citizens, representatives of civil society initiatives and public institutions, including the State Emergency Services of Ukraine. The European Parliament, especially the work of the founder of the “Ángeles de Taira” medical evaluation unit, Yulia Pajevska; human rights activist and president of the Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra Matviychuk; the Yellow Ribbon Civil Resistance Movement, and the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, occupied by Russian forces, Ivan Fedorov.
Every year since 1988, the European Parliament has awarded the prize for freedom of conscience named after Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov to honor people and organizations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 50,000 euros that the prize has as an endowment will be distributed among different personalities of the Ukrainian civil society. The delivery ceremony will take place on December 14 in Strasbourg.
The award was given last year to Russian opponent Alexei Navaly. On previous occasions, the courage of the democratic opposition in Belarus (2020) and Venezuela (2017), the Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege (2014) or the activists Nadia Murad, of Kurdish origin, and the Pakistani Malala Yousazi in 2017 have been highlighted. and 2013 respectively; Both women received the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.
"We nominate the Ukrainian people because they are not only fighting for the freedom of their country but for our freedom and democracy," the socialist group said in a statement. "The brave people of Ukraine are the living representation of everything that the Sakharov Prize promotes: respect for international law, freedom of expression, democracy and the rule of law. They deserve our unlimited support, including the highest tribute that granted by the EU to human rights defenders", stressed the socialist MEP Pedro Marques, vice-president of the institution.
