Martin Ennals
Martin Ennals (27 July 1927 – 5 October 1991) was a British human rights activist. Ennals served as the secretary-general of Amnesty International from 1968 to 1980. He went on to help found the British human rights organisation ARTICLE 19 in 1987 and International Alert in 1985.
Martin Ennals | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 July 1927 Walsall, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 5 October 1991 (aged 64) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Nationality | British |
| Organization | Amnesty International |
| Title | Secretary general |
| Predecessor | Eric Baker |
| Successor | Thomas Hammarberg |
| Awards | Gandhi Peace Award |
During Ennals's tenure as secretary general, Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Erasmus Prize, and the UN Human Rights Award.[1]
Early life and career
Born in 1927 in Walsall, Staffordshire to Arthur Ford Ennals and his wife Jessie Edith Taylor. Ennals was educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School and the London School of Economics, where he received a degree in international relations. Ennals worked for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) from 1951 to 1959. In 1959, Ennals became a founding member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and also became secretary general of the National Council for Civil Liberties, a position that he held until 1966, when he became information and publications officer of the Commission for Racial Equality.[2]
Ennals became Secretary General of Amnesty International in 1968. At the time, the organization had 7 staff and an annual budget of £17'000.[3] Twelve years later, the staff had grown to 150 with an annual budget of £2 million. Ennals represented an era where Amnesty became a human rights organization of global concern. Amnesty was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 1976, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, and the UN Human Rights Award in 1978. Ennals had other people accept the prizes on behalf of Amnesty.[4]
In 1982 Ennals led the founding assembly of HURIDOCS and was its founding President.[5]
In 1986 Ennals became the first secretary general of International Alert.[6]
Ennals had two elder brothers, John and David. David Ennals was a British Labour Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Social Services, while John Ennals was Chairman of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1968 to 1976.[7]
Award
The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, created in 1993, is granted annually to someone who has demonstrated an exceptional record of combating human rights violations by courageous means and is in need of protection. The award gives international "protective publicity" to human rights defenders around the world, mainly in their country of origin (a unique characteristic of this award, and very important from a protection point of view), through too much mass media (television, radio and internet). The winner is selected in Geneva, the world center for human rights, by a jury made up of 10 leading international human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Frontline, International Commission of Jurists, HURIDOCS, etc.[8]
The Martin Ennals Award is considered the award of the whole human rights movement. It is known as "the Nobel prize for human rights".[9] The Annual Ceremony organised with the City of Geneva is an event with world Internet and TV coverage.
| Year | Recipient Name |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Harry Wu ( PRC) |
| 1995 | Asma Jahangir ( Pakistan) |
| 1996 | Clement Nwankwo ( Nigeria) |
| 1997 | Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia ( Mexico) |
| 1998 | Eyad El Sarraj ( Palestine) |
| 1999 | Natasha Kandic ( FR Yugoslavia) |
| 2000 | Immaculée Birhaheka ( DR Congo) |
| 2001 | Peace Brigades International ( Colombia) |
| 2002 | Jacqueline Moudeina ( Chad) |
| 2003 | Alirio Uribe Muñoz ( Colombia) |
| 2004 | Lidia Yusupova ( Russia) |
| 2005 | Aktham Naisse ( Syria) |
| 2006 | Akbar Ganji ( Iran) and Arnold Tsunga ( Zimbabwe) |
| 2007 | Rajan Hoole, Kopalasingham Sritharan ( both Sri Lanka) and Pierre Claver Mbonimpa ( Burundi) |
| 2008 | Mutabar Tadjibaeva ( Uzbekistan) |
| 2009 | Emad Baghi ( Iran) |
| 2010 | Muhannad Al-Hassani ( Syria) |
| 2011 | Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera ( Uganda) |
| 2012 | Luon Sorvath ( Cambodia) |
| 2013: | Joint Mobile Group ( Russia) |
| 2014 | Alejandra Ancheita ( Mexico) |
| 2015 | Ahmed Mansoor ( UAE) |
| 2016 | Ilham Tohti ( PRC) |
See also
Notes
- ^ "Martin Ennals: A Giant Human Rights Defender". Martin Ennals Award. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013.
- ^ David P. Forsyth, "Encyclopedia of Human Rights", Oxford University Press
- ^ Martin Ennals Award, http://martinennalsaward.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98&Itemid=74&lang=en
- ^ "News & Updates – Martin Ennals Award".
- ^ "Our Story". HURIDOCS. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "History". International Alert. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "ENNALS, John Arthur Ford". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Welcome to Martin Ennals Awards – MEA". Martinennalsaward.org. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ^ Le Monde, 2008, http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifique/article/2008/11/24/le-combat-de-mutabar-tadjibaeva-survivante-des-geoles-de-tachkent_1122352_3216.html
External links
- Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
- Human rights defenders from Iran and Zimbabwe receive Martin Ennals Award 2006, presented by Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights