The Prize for Freedom is awarded annually by Liberal International to honour an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of human rights and political freedoms. Recipients come from across the world and have fought on issues from women’s empowerment to establishing democracy.
VIEW CRITERIA ON THE LI PRIZE FOR FREEDOM
In 1984 the Executive Committee agreed on its creations, the Prize for Freedom was to be given to ‘a well-known personality of liberal conviction who had made outstanding efforts for the defence of freedom and human rights during the year’.
The first Prize for Freedom was awarded in 1985 to Raúl Alfonsín, in recognition of his part in restoring democracy in Argentina.
In the following years, winners included the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino, and Martin Lee, leader of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong.
In cases where the recipient was in prison and unable to receive the award professionally, for example the Cuban 1992 prizewinner Maria Elena Cruz Varela, this was especially in highlighting continuing abuses against freedom. President Lambsdorff even offered to travel to Cuba to award the Prize and speak to President Fidel Castro. Mrs Cruz Varela was finally released in 1993 and received the Prize in person in 1994.
One of the 1991 joint prize winners, Kenyan lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, was not permitted to leave Kenya to collect his award and so Lambsdorff travelled to Nairobi in early 1992 to present it to him.
In some cases, notably the Prizes given to Hans-Dietrich Genscher in 1988 marking his commitment to East-West relations, to Irish President Mary Robinson in 1993 and to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, in 1994, the awards served to make a distinctly political point, going beyond the individual recipient.
In 2014, LI President Dr. Juli Minoves awarded the prize to Waris Dirie. Ms. Dirie is from Somalia and, as a former UN Special Ambassador and a political activist, has fought to raise awareness of the dangers of female genital mutilation (FGM).
In 2016, the Prize was awarded to Saudi activist Raif Badawi, currently imprisoned under accuse of apostasy and “insulting Islam through electronic channels”, he was sentenced in 2014 to 10 years in prison, 1000 lashes. His wife Ensaf Haidar received the Prize in his honour in Brussels.
In 2017, Uyghur economist, Ilham Tohti, serving a life sentence in China for merely calling for better treatment of the Uyghur population in north-western China, was awarded the Prize for Freedom. Professor Ilham was the first-ever recipient of the LI Prize from mainland China.
In July 2018, Liberal International, together with the Liberal Party of the Philippines, hosted an awarding ceremony in Manila, The Philippines with some 160 guests at which the 2018 Prize was presented Sen. Leila De Lima’s brother, Vincente. Dignitaries, including the Vice-President of the Philippines, Leni Robredo, spoke of Senator De Lima’s courageous fight for truth and justice.
In 2019, the 36th laureate of LI’s Prize for Freedom was awarded to Venezuelan politician, María Corina Machado, for her dedicated efforts over many years to bring democracy to Venezuela. Owing to harsh and uncompromising restrictions in Venezuela, María was not able to be present in person but we were honoured that her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, was able to accept the Prize on her mother’s behalf in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
You can find more information about the Prize for Freedom recipients here.
