French Government 2021 “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” Human Rights Prize

Applications are now open for the 2021 “Liberté-Égalité-Fraternité” Human Rights Prize of the French Republic, awarded by the Prime Minister of the French Government.

This Prize, created in 1988, is awarded in recognition and support for the completion of individual or collective projects carried out in the field, in France or abroad, regardless of nationality or borders, to promote and protect human rights.

2021 themes

Non-governmental organizations and individual candidates, regardless of nationality or borders, should submit an application corresponding to one of the two themes for 2021. This application should contain field activities or a project to be implemented in France or abroad.

Theme 1: COVID-19 and defending human rights.
The global public health crisis has shed harsh light on the particular difficulties faced by vulnerable or disadvantaged populations when it comes to real fulfilment of human rights enshrined in international instruments.

Theme 2: Education, a common good and a fundamental right
Education is not only a fundamental human right. It is also a right of which the fulfilment directly impacts all other rights. Education is one of the most powerful tools for socially excluded children and adults to escape poverty, facilitating inclusion in society. It reduces the inequalities that affect girls and women.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis for education systems, disrupting the lives of almost 1.6 billion schoolchildren and students in more than 190 countries, across all continents. According to a United Nations report, the closure of schools and other places of learning affected 94% of people in education worldwide, and up to 99% in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Award ceremony

The five prize winners will be invited to Paris for the official ceremony. They will receive a medal and share a total sum of €70,000, awarded by the CNCDH and to be used to implement their projects. They may introduce themselves as 2021 laureates of the Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

Five runners-up will be awarded a “special mention” medal by the French ambassador in their country of origin.

Rules

Applications must comply with the prize rules,
which are available upon request. They can also be found on the CNCDH website: http://www.cncdh.fr/fr/prix/prix-des-droits-de-lhomme .

Application

The application must be written in French and include:

• A letter of application presented and signed by the president or legal representative of the NGO concerned, or by the individual candidate;
• The application form, which is attached to this call for applications and can be downloaded from the CNCDH website. This form should present, in detail, the actions conducted by the association or individual.
• A presentation of the NGO (statutes, operations, etc.), where appropriate.
• The postal address and bank details of the NGO or individual candidate.

Candidates must send their complete application by the deadline of 17 October 2021 to the Secretariat-General of the CNCDH:

CNCDH – For the attention of Cécile RIOU-BATISTA,
TSA 40 720 – 20 avenue de Ségur, 75007 PARIS – France
or by email.

Once the panel has announced the results, the 2021 Prize will be awarded in Paris by the Prime Minister, or another French minister, around 10 December 2021.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the French Government 2021 Human Rights Prize