Bruno Kreisky Foundation

for Human Rights

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Presentation of the honorary award 2019 to Michael Landau

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The honorary award of the Bruno Kreisky Foundation for services to human rights has been awarded since 2007 for very special commitment and sustainable services to the implementation, promotion and further development of human rights.

In 2019, the independent jury and board of trustees of the Bruno Kreisky Foundation for services to human rights unanimously decided to award Michael Landau, the President of Caritas in Austria, with the honorary award of the Bruno Kreisky Foundation for services to human rights for his very special commitment to human rights award. The prize was awarded on October 21, 2019 in the Ringturm in Vienna.

The award winner Michael Landau during his acceptance speech

Msgr. DDr. Michael Landau, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1992, as head of Caritas Vienna from 1995 and since 2013 as president of Caritas Austria, has worked sustainably and with great commitment always - also publicly acting against the cultural and political zeitgeist - for the unrestricted maintenance and enforcement of human rights in Austria and in the world. In the spirit of the Foundation's statutes, President Landau has not only continued the tradition of his predecessors in Caritas through humanitarian or charitable aid in an extraordinary dimension, but has expanded it further.

Michael Köhlmeier during his eulogy for the award winner

Previous award winners were Kofi Annan for his commitment to enforcing human rights as UN Secretary-General, lawyer Wolfgang Kaleck in special recognition of his legal work within the framework of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Manfred Nowak for his lasting life's work as a tireless human rights defender within the framework of the United Nations and in Austria, as a human rights teacher at the University of Vienna and internationally, and as a successful institute founder.

The journalist Johanna Hager moderated the panel discussion with award winner Michael Landau and laudator Michael Köhlmeier on the topic: "Do human rights have a future?"

Bruno Kreisky Prize for Services to Human Rights 2019

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18th presentation of the Bruno Kreisky Prize for services to human rights
Cash desk of the Oesterreichische nationalbank, Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, 1090 Vienna May 20, 2019, 6 p.m

Greeting:
governor
university Prof. Dr. Ewald Nowotny
Chairman of the board of trustees of the Bruno Kreisky Foundation for services to human rights

The 2019 award winners at a glance:

International nomination: Amal Fathy
With Laudation by Dr. Gudrun Harrer (journalist/Middle East expert)

National nomination: Shalom Alaikum - Jewish Aid for Refugees
With Laudation by Dr. Doron Rabinovici (writer/historian)

National nomination: Know your rights project
With Laudation by Mag.a Corinna Milborn (author/journalist)

Thanks and final words:
university Prof. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb
Member of the Board, Bruno Kreisky Foundation for Services to Human Rights

subsequent reception

On May 20, 2019, starting at 6 p.m., the Bruno Kreisky Foundation will award Austria’s oldest renowned human rights prize, named after Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, in the cash desk of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, 1090 Vienna).

The international jury of the Bruno Kreisky Prize for Services to Human Rights unanimously awarded the international Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Prize to the Egyptian activist Amal Fathy for her outstanding contributions to safeguarding human rights.

Amal Fathy is a member of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), a civil society organization that documents torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Egypt. In May 2018, she posted a video on her Facebook page denouncing the sexual harassment she was subjected to that day and the government's passive handling of such incidents, as well as the deteriorating living conditions and poor human rights situation in Egypt . As a result, she was arrested and held in custody and interrogated for eight months. In connection with her video, she was accused of "spreading false facts to disrupt national security" and publishing an "indecent video". In court, Amal Fathy defended the statements made in her video as truthful and argued that sexual harassment is widespread in Egypt. On December 30, 2018, three days after her parole, Amal Fathy was sentenced to two years in prison. She is currently at risk of being arrested again at any time in order to have her prison sentence enforced.

In addition to the prize for services to human rights to Amal Fathy, further prizes are awarded to the association "Shalom Alaikum - Jewish Aid for Refugees" and to the project "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS", which make an important contribution to safeguarding human rights in Austria.

"Shalom Alaikum - Jewish Aid for Refugees" - founded in autumn 2015 by a group of committed Jewish women - acts according to the principle of the Torah: "Love your neighbor as you" (Lev. 19.18b). The small volunteer team is in close daily contact with families who have fled to Vienna and accompanies them over the long term. Donations to 100% benefit the refugees directly, as the management team provides the necessary infrastructure free of charge. People who have been robbed of their homes and families, and who often only have their bare dignity, need advice, comfort and support. We help at eye level through intensive, personal care and give them family and social support so that they can take their own lives back into their own hands with dignity. We are not only helpers, but also confidants. The reason for our initiative was the fate of our families when the Nazis seized power in March 1938: one country after the other closed its borders to Jewish refugees. As the grandchildren of this generation, we know how grateful our families were to all those who helped them survive. Based on Judaism, Shalom Alaikum advocates humanity, justice and a coexistence of religions. We want to give the refugees what they urgently need and are looking for: a welcome in our society.

KNONE YOUR RIGHTS is the youth participation project initiated in 2010 by the Human Rights Advisory Board of the City of Graz with the aim of awakening and promoting young people's interest in human rights. The participants (14-24 years old) form an editorial team every year and publish their articles, interviews, videos or photo series on human rights and socio-political topics on the platform www.kennedeinerechte.at. This also provides basic information on human rights, questions and answers. The young people receive organizational and content-related support from ETC Graz as the office of the Human Rights Advisory Board. Mag.a Alexandra Stocker and David Weiss, MA from the project team see their task above all in enabling: “Young people are not lacking in motivation and ideas. We create the framework and offer a mouthpiece for your concerns. Over 60 great participants have been trained as human rights journalists in recent years and together with us they contribute to more human rights awareness.” The tenth year of the project is currently being prepared, and interested parties between the ages of 14 and 24 can apply for the 2019/20 editorial team.

The Bruno Kreisky Foundation mourns the loss of Kofi Anan and Uri Avnery, who passed away on August 18 and 20, respectively

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Kofi Annan

Born in Kumasi, Ghana on April 8, 1938, Annan graduated from Kumasi University of Science and Technology and completed his undergraduate degree in economics at Macalester College in the United States in 1961. From 1961 to 1962 he completed bachelor's degrees in economics at Institut universitaire des hautes études Internationales in Geneva. As a Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1971-1972), Annan received a Master of Science in Management.

Kofi Annan started working for the UN World Health organization in 1962 in Geneva. At the UN-Headquarters in New York he worked in various areas in senior-level positions. Some of these sectors included: human resources management, budget and finance, and peacekeeping.
Kofi Annan was part of many important undertakings of the UN before becoming the UN Secretary General. For example, he initiated a project in which the profits of oil in Baghdad were put towards humanitarian causes. Once he became Secretary General Annan took on even more complicated political situations. He has worked with both Iraq, and Libya to try and get them to cooperate with the UN. Both countries were refusing to conform to Security Council resolutions. Annan was also a crucial actor when violence resumed in the Middle East in 2000. He promoted the Security Council’s standards, and tried to get Israelis and Palestinians to come to embrace their differences and achieve peace.

Annan was also committed to solving issues in Africa. He began the „Call to Action“ program in April 2001 to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic within Africa. With his support the program turned into the founding of the Global AIDS and Health Fund. Since its creation the Global AIDS and Health Fund has received approximately $1.5 billion in donations.

During his decade as UN Secretary General he had an unprecedented effect on international human rights. His initiation of the „Global Compact“ program is especially significant. This program encourages the international business community to uphold environmental regulations. He is also responsible for a report, which was the basis for the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Since 2007 he is the president of the World Organisation Against Torture and founded the Kofi Annan Foundation for peace building and sustainable development. He is a member of the Global Elders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007.

More:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2001/annan-bio.html

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery was born on September 10, 1923 to a Jewish family in Beckum, Germany. When he was ten, his family moved to Israel to escape Nazi rule.

Avnery founded Gush Shalom in 1993 because he felt that the other peace groups were not strong enough to effectively oppose Yitzhak Rabin's new government. Gush Shalom means Peace Block. This organization strives for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. She is not affiliated with any political party and her focus is changing public opinion in Israel. Gush Shalom recommends the "Green Line" that existed before 1967, with Jerusalem as the capital of both countries. Gush Shalom has only a few hundred active members but is supported by thousands of people. Not only do they organize many protests against human rights violations in Israel, but also training programs for peace activities. Uri Avnery became known as an author with his book In the Fields of the Philistines. It is a diary from the 1948 war. In the years that followed, he acquired the journal haOlam haZeh and remained its editor-in-chief for forty years. In it, he proves the government's cases of corruption. The government threatened him with the dissolution of the newspaper. As a result, supporters of the magazine founded a political party that even won a seat in the Knesset in 1965. Avnery himself was a member of the Knesset for ten years. He currently writes a weekly online column that Gush Shalom publishes. Here he discusses important political issues.

http://www.uri-avnery.de
http://www.gush-shalom.org

Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism

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Vienna (OTS) - The "Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism" was set up on the basis of a private initiative, in the spirit of the well-known former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, who died in January 2017, to honor journalists whose work focuses on a critical and reporting on flight, expulsion and asylum that is committed to protecting human rights in an outstanding manner. The committed and successful publicist Ari Rath was expelled by force on November 2, 1938 as a child at the age of 13 after the National Socialists took power and found a new home in Palestine and later in the State of Israel. He belonged to the generation of well-known politicians Yitzchak Rabin, Teddy Kollek and Shimon Peres and was an advisor to Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister from 1948. In recent years, Ari Rath has lived mostly in Vienna and has acted as a critical admonisher for democratic and peaceful cooperation between the people in Israel and in Austria. As a witness to the National Socialist terror, he repeatedly pleaded for the absolute rejection of racism and xenophobia, which he conveyed as a message in many lectures and discussions with schoolchildren, going beyond anti-Semitism.

A jury of experts chaired by Gertraud Auer Borea d'Olmo, Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue and a close confidante of Ari Rath, unanimously awarded Dr.in Alexandra Föderl-Schmid the first "Ari Rath Prize for critical journalism". “ awarded. She helped shape the daily newspaper “Der Standard” for almost three decades, being the first woman in Austria to be editor-in-chief since 2007 and co-editor since 2012. Since November 1, 2017 she has been working as a correspondent in Israel for the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Since the beginning of her professional journalistic work in 1990 - first in Linz, then in Berlin and in Brussels - Föderl-Schmid has always emphatically campaigned for the defense of human rights in the migration and asylum debate, which has been fiercely politically contested since 1990, and precisely that humanistic ideal that Ari Rath upheld throughout his life. It is no coincidence that she has met him many times over the past few years to seek his advice in the turbulent present. In this sense, there is a close personal connection to the namesake of the award. The fact that she is reporting from Israel today presents the award winner with new challenges that also have to do with the life story of Ari Rath, who is committed to a peaceful and permanent solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The prize, donated by a friend of Ari's, will be presented on May 3, 2018 - on Press Freedom Day - at Radio Kulturhaus in cooperation with ORF III. Federal Chancellor aD Dr. Franz Vranitzky will hold the laudatory speech for the award winner.

Questions & contact:

Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue
Gertraud Auer Borea d'Olmo
Mobile: 0664 831 0060
kreiskyforum@kreisky.org
www.kreisky-forum.org
https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20171102_OTS0006/ari-rath-preis-fuer-kritischen-journalismus

Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights goes to Asli Erdogan

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The international jury of the Bruno Kreisky Prize for services to human rights unanimously awarded the Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Prize to the Turkish author Aslı Erdoğan for her outstanding services to safeguarding human rights. The Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights was named after the late Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and is the oldest renowned human rights prize in Austria (http://www.kreisky.org/human.rights/index.htm).

Throughout her life, the woman who Aslı Erdoğan did research as a physicist at CERN in Geneva and who was a “writer in exile” guest at the International House of Authors in Graz from 2012 to 2013, has been actively and unreservedly committed to the implementation of human rights .

In all her publications, the committed human rights activist Erdogan uses the manifestations of suffering and injustice, which she traces again and again, as a benchmark for orientation.

Ms. Aslı Erdoğan is currently being prosecuted in Turkey. She was charged with four separate crimes, including her column and membership of an advisory board in a Kurdish newspaper. She was arrested on charges of destroying the unity and integrity of the state and membership of a terrorist organization. She was released on bail on December 29, 2016, but is banned from traveling abroad. The next trial date is March 14th.

The Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Prize for the writer Aslı Erdoğan is also a sign against massive restrictions on human rights.

Kreisky Prize for reporters imprisoned in Syria

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06/11/13 Kreisky Prize for reporter imprisoned in Syria > KleineZeitung
www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/3330700/kreisky-preis-fuer-syrien-inhaftten-reporter.story 1/1
Last updated: 06/10/2013 at 07:26

The Bruno Kreisky Prize for services to human rights goes to the
Syrian journalist and activist Mazen Darwish, who has been in power by the regime since February 2012
being held in custody under President Assad. Darwish will be honored for standing up for
freedom of the press and the disappearance of reporters in his
The reason given was that I had drawn attention to my homeland.
Darwish established the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) in 2004
founded together with other activists and, according to the broadcast, about the
reported the situation of political prisoners in his home country. Because of his
A travel ban was imposed on Darwish for Engagements back in 2007.
He was arrested several times, most recently in February 2012 when the offices were stormed
his organization. To date he has not been released. His wife will take his place
Yara Bader presented the award on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the state hall of the National Library in
receive Vienna.
The Ethiopian human rights activist Bogaletch Gebre is also honored loudly
Kreisky Foundation for her tireless and successful fight against women
genital mutilation in their home country. She and her sister have them
"Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma-Tope" (KGM) group was founded, which operates in Ethiopia to this day
campaigns for women's rights and marginalized groups. In addition to this, the KGM
women's health and education programs.
As a third party, Cecily Corti, chairwoman of the St. Vincent Community of St. Stephen and
Co-founder of the homeless facility VinziRast in Vienna, the award. the
VinziRast in Vienna-Meidling is an emergency shelter with 48 additional beds for the homeless
the VinziRast-CortiHaus with 16 apartments was added in 2008 and in 2011
opened a residential community for alcoholic homeless people. Corti has been among others with
the Golden Medal of Merit

Ethiopian women's rights activist Gebre honored

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06/11/13 Ethiopian women's rights activist in Gebre honored- dieStandard.at› Politics
diestandard.at/1369363188974/Aethiopische-Frauenrechtesaktivistin-Bogaletch-Gebre-excellent 1/2
© derStandard.at GmbH 2013

I

Your educational work has contributed to that
the number of circumcised girls in Ethiopia fell sharply
Vienna – The Ethiopian women's rights activist Bogaletch Gebre receives the Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Prize for her work against genital cutting in her home country. through her
The use and work of their group "Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma" (KMG) was able to increase the number of new
circumcised girls, according to a study by the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF from 2008
be reduced to zero. The award ceremony will take place in Vienna on Monday evening.
Men and women involved in discussion processes
KMG was founded in 1997 by Bogaletch Gebre and her sister Fikrte. The work against FGM
picked up the group in 2000. Her approach is awareness and educational work in the
respective villages and towns. It is important at work that both men and women
of all ages can be involved in the process. “In addition to that, we had at the
Two people also took part in rounds of talks who provided basic facts on the subject. About,
that neither the Bible nor the Koran says anything about genital cutting, what are the risks
circumcision for girls and that many have died from it.” In Ethiopia included
circumcision traditionally involves cutting away the clitoris, as well as the inner and outer
Labia.
“We allowed the groups to have a week-long discussion process before they closed themselves
came to the conclusion that this practice had to be stopped," explained Gebre. According to Gebre
Genital cutting is neither an Ethiopian nor an African tradition. "I don't know where that came from
phenomenon is coming,” she said. It is obvious that it serves this purpose in a patriarchal system
To control and subdue women and deprive them of their sexual desire.
Demonstrative marriage
The first major success was achieved just two years after the organization started its activities
be recorded: A young couple decided to get married. “She was uncircumcised and the two
celebrated their wedding in public,” said Gebre happily. “There were 3,000 guests in total
came and the religious leaders blessed the marriage in front of all.” Thereupon was a kind
Competition arose in the neighborhood: “Suddenly everyone wanted an uncircumcised woman
get married,” said the award winner.
"I don't know if I won the fight. We are making achievements in the communities,”
said Gebre. “But there are numerous areas in addition to circumcision where the rights of
Women are being hurt.” The work is only done when women have the same rights and freedoms
and would possess the same value as men. “I hope that violence against women in the name
tradition will end one day," said Gebre. Every culture that violates human rights is a
System that should no longer be accepted in the 21st century. (APA, June 10, 2013)
link
Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma Ethiopia
dieStandard.at › PoliticsJune 11, 2013 Ethiopian women's rights activist in Gebre honored- dieStandard.at› Politics
diestandard.at/1369363188974/Aethiopische-Frauenrechtesaktivistin-Bogaletch-Gebre-excellent 2/2

Kreisky Human Rights Prize for journalists imprisoned in Syria

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APA0020 / 10.06 Mon, Jun 10, 2013

Syrian Mazen Darwish honored for his commitment to freedom of the press, Ethiopian Bogaletch Gebre in the fight against genital mutilation and Austrian Cecily Corti for his commitment to the homeless

Damascus/Addis Ababa/Vienna (APA) - This year's Bruno Kreisky Prize for services to human rights goes to the Syrian journalist and activist Mazen Darwish, who has been imprisoned by the regime under President Bashar al-Assad since February 2012. Darwish was honored at the suggestion of the international award commission because he campaigned for freedom of the press and drew attention to the disappearance of reporters and bloggers in his home country, the Kreisky Foundation justified its choice.
Darwish founded the "Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression" (SCM) together with other activists in 2004 and, according to the broadcast, reported among other things on the situation of political prisoners in his home country. Because of his commitment, a travel ban was imposed on Darwish in 2007. He was arrested several times, most recently in February 2012 when his organization's offices were stormed. To date he has not been released. In his place, his wife Yara Bader will accept the award on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the state hall of the National Library in Vienna.
According to the Kreisky Foundation, the Ethiopian human rights activist Bogaletch Gebre is also honored for her tireless and successful fight against female genital mutilation in her home country. Together with her sister, she founded the "Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma-Tope" (KGM) group, which still campaigns for women's rights and marginalized groups in Ethiopia. In addition, KGM implements women's health and education programs.
Cecily Corti, chairwoman of the Vinzenzgemeinschaft St. Stephan and co-founder of the homeless facility VinziRast in Vienna, is the third person to receive the award. The VinziRast in Vienna-Meidling is an emergency shelter with 48 beds for the homeless. In addition, the VinziRast-CortiHaus with 16 apartments was opened in 2008 and a shared flat for alcoholic homeless people in 2011. Corti has been awarded the Gold Medal of Merit for services to the Republic of Austria.
(SERVICES: SCM: http://scm.bz/?lang=en, KGM: http://kmg-ethiopia.org/, Vinzirast: http://www.vinzirast.at/)
(final) eleven/fat

Kreisky Prize winner: fight for women's rights "not yet won"

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APA Mon, Jun 10, 2013

Due to the commitment of Kreisky Human Rights Prize winner Gebre, female genital mutilation in Ethiopia is almost non-existent
present

Vienna (APA) - The Ethiopian women's rights activist Bogaletch Gebre will be honored this Monday evening with the Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Prize for her efforts in the fight against female genital mutilation in her home country. "We are making progress," she told APA, referring to the global and Ethiopian women's rights situation. "But we haven't won the fight yet." Thanks to her commitment and the work of her group "Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma" (KMG), the number of victims of genital mutilation was reduced to almost zero, according to a study by the UN children's fund UNICEF in 2008 will.
The group began its work in 2000 and aimed to raise awareness and awareness-raising about the risks of the procedure for the affected girls within rural and urban communities. "We engaged in long discussions and reflection processes with the groups," said Gebre. It is important at work that both men and women of all ages are involved in the process. “In addition to that, we also had two people present at the talks who provided basic facts on the topic. For example, that neither the Bible nor the Koran says anything about genital cutting, what risks circumcision entails for girls and that many have already died from it.” In Ethiopia, the common method was cutting away the clitoris and the inner and outer labia.
"We allowed the groups to have a week-long discussion process until they came to the conclusion that this practice had to be stopped," explained Gebre. A 14-year-old girl once said that her parents protected her and were concerned about her health. "You mustn't do me any harm," she is said to have said. "If they hurt me, then that's a culture of killing." According to Gebre, however, genital cutting is neither an Ethiopian nor an African tradition. "I don't know where the phenomenon comes from," she said. It is obvious that it serves to control women in a patriarchal system and to make them compliant and to rob them of their sexual desire.
Gebre criticized that there was a big misunderstanding in the so-called West that mothers wanted to harm their daughters. "No mother in the world wants to hurt her daughter. They just think it's their duty or that their religion requires it of them,” she explained. Traditionally, circumcision is often seen as preparation for a wedding.
The first major success was achieved just two years after the organization started its activities: a young couple decided to get married. "She was uncircumcised and the two celebrated their wedding in public," said Gebre happily. "A total of 3,000 guests came and the religious leaders blessed the marriage in front of everyone." This led to a kind of competition in the neighborhood: "Suddenly everyone wanted to marry an uncircumcised woman," says the award winner.
"I don't know if I won the fight. We're seeing successes in the communities," Gebre said. "But in addition to circumcision, there are numerous areas in which women's rights are violated." The work is only done when women have the same rights and freedoms and the same values as men. "I hope that one day violence against women in the name of tradition will stop," said Gebre. Every culture that violates human rights is a system that should no longer be accepted in the 21st century.
(The interview was conducted by Mona El Khalaf/APA)