A vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called ‘war on drugs’ and a prisoner of conscience. Senator Leila de Lima was one of the first to be targeted by the hard-line Duterte government for her outspoken criticism of the president’s targeted campaign of violence, which has left thousands of mostly poor Filipinos dead. Imprisoned since February 2017, this month Liberal International will recognise her sacrifice with our highest human rights award, the Prize for Freedom.
The global liberal family unanimously voted to award Sen. De Lima the Prize at its 199th executive committee meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2017. Liberal International was one of the first international organisations to campaign for Senator De Lima’s release and has taken the case the United Nations Human Rights Council and rallied parliamentarians across Europe.
Leila De Lima will be the second Filipino parliamentarian to receive the human rights prize, after former president, Corazon Aquino, was recognised in 1987.
Updates can be found on LI’s Facebook and Twitter pages and using the hashtag #LIFreedomPrize.
LI’s Prize for Freedom is awarded to “a well-known personality of liberal conviction who has made outstanding efforts for the defence of freedom and human rights.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the ceremony in Manila, contact Office@liberal-international.org
