Recognising contribution: Life time awards announced for rights activists

‘We hope this will inspire others to follow in their footsteps’

LAHORE:

The Centre for Human Rights Education- Pakistan will confer lifetime achievement awards posthumously on late Advocate Rashid Rehman, Shahbaz Bhatti, and Group Captain (retd) Cecil Chaudhry at CHRE’s Second Annual Democracy Festival in Multan on October 22. 

In a statement issued on Friday, the CHRE said Rehman, Bhatti and Chaudhry had rendered invaluable services to the country. The awards are meant to acknowledge and honour their outstanding contributions towards the protection and promotion of human rights, and rights of marginalised communities of Pakistan in particular. The CHRE said they hoped this would inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

The statement said 15 people had been nominated for the CHRE’s second annual Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Democracy Award. Prominent individuals including some politicians, media personalities, women, minorities, disabled persons, and the youth had been nominated to honour their services for the protection and promotion of democracy in Pakistan. Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Sohail Warraich, Jami Chandio and Wajahat Masood are among those nominated for the award.

The Centre for Human Rights Education will also confer the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Awards, 2014, which shall be conferred upon young activists from various parts of the country to encourage them to continue promoting human rights.

The festival is being held in collaboration with 40 other civil society organisations. Human rights activists from all over the country have been invited to the event.

The statement said that the CHRE hoped these awards would encourage more people to strive for democracy, human rights and peace in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2014.