Asma Jahangir honoured with UNA-USA human rights award

Jahangir awarded the UNA-USA Leo Nevas Human Rights Award for her work in Pakistan and abroad.

NEW YORK: Pakistani human rights activist and the outgoing Supreme Court Bar Association president, Asma Jahangir has been awarded the prestigious United Nations Association of USA (UNA-USA) Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force award for 2011.  

Jahangir, a former UN Special Rapporteur and a prominent human rights lawyer, addressed a discussion and gave a presentation at the Grand Hyatt in New York about fighting the odds to uphold human rights and the challenges she faced as an international monitor on human rights and as an activist promoting domestic reforms and rule of law in Pakistan.

"UNA-USA honors Dr Jahangir and Woodin-Rodriguez as part of our ongoing efforts to uplift human rights around the world," said UNA-USA Executive Director Patrick Madden. "They have shown incredible dedication to raising awareness of UN's efforts in the area of human rights."

The award is the highest honor of Leo Nevas Human Rights Program, an initiative of UNA-USA that promotes human rights as an essential component of United States policy at UN. "Asma Jahangir's efforts to uphold respect for human rights in face of threats, intimidation, and attempts to silence her are an inspiration to all of us," said Felice D. Gaer, chair of Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force.

"As a courageous, internationally acclaimed human rights champion of the downtrodden, she has travelled to every corner of the globe to shine a light on abuse and raise awareness of all concerned members of UN. It is an honor to award the 2011 Leo Nevas Human Rights Award to Asma for her work as a UN Special Rapporteur and as Pakistan's most celebrated human rights lawyer."

Jahangir served both as UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary execution, and more recently as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. She was twice elected as Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir recently completed her term as President of SCBA, and has a long history of leadership at human rights, law, women's rights organisations. She was placed under house arrest, and later imprisoned, in Pakistan for participating in movement to restore political, fundamental rights under military regime in 1983. She has been threatened by militants due to her efforts to secure justice for disadvantaged groups and advocating equal rights for the LGBTQ community.

Leo Nevas Human Rights Award & Human Rights Youth Award are been presented annually since 2007, year The Leo Nevas Program on Human Rights was established in honor of UNA-USA's longest-serving board member. Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force is team of citizens knowledgeable, vitally concerned about role of UN & US in protecting international human rights for all.

Correction: The headline of this story had earlier suggested that the award was from the UN, the UNA is an affiliated agency of the United Nations Foundation. The error is regretted.