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| Award Ceremony of the 2004 UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education |
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| Vitit Muntarbhorn, winner of the 2004 UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education |
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News 17 of 19
 Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, awarded the 2004 UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education to Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn for his outstanding contribution to the creation of a universal culture of human rights. The laureate received the Honorary Diploma, the Trophy of the Prize - bronze sculpture by the Japanese artist Toshi - and the check for the amount of US $ 10,000. The Award Ceremony took place in Bangkok, capital of the country of the laureate, on 23 March 2005.
In his statement the Director-General stressed that Professor Vitit combined the “qualities of a scholar, a researcher, an educator, a policy-making adviser and a grass-roots human rights activist who upholds the universal values of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all”.
Khunying Dr. Kasama Varavarn, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Thailand, made a statement on behalf of the National Commission of Thailand for UNESCO. She underlined that “…the work of Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn … has shed light on the issue of child sexual exploitation, an issue that had, for a long time, been swept under the carpet. Through his courageous attempt to bring the issue into the open, many effective measures are now in place to prevent and cope with this problem”. Dr. K. Varavarn pointed out that Vitit Muntarbhorn’s research work, publications and crusade against human rights violations inspired young professionals to follow his example.
In his acceptance speech, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn recalled that his career as a human rights activist started from his involvement in a voluntary work for rural communities and organization of legal training programmes for agricultural youth. This experience taught him about human dignity and kindness of villagers, “even when their daily lives were faced with rampant poverty”. As a young University lecturer, he carried out research concerning vulnerable groups, in particular children and women. His book on refugees entailed long journeys to various refugees camps in Asia. The testimonies of refugees, remembered Vitit Muntarbhorn, “are harrowing tales of why they left their country of origin – often due to oppression, persecution, warfare and hunger intermixed with the fear of discrimination. These experiences always remind why human rights are at the heart of our lives – to assist and protect people often in precarious, life-and-death situations”.
Professor Vitit noted that 2005 marked the launching of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, adopted by the United Nations as the follow-up to the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1994-2005), and of its Plan of Action for the first phase (2005-2007), related to the human rights education at the primary and secondary school levels.
According to Vitit Muntarbhorn, the implementation of the Plan of Action faces five major challenges: the creation of a human rights-friendly learning environment, teacher capacity-building, democratic school governance, stimulating content and methodology of human rights education and bridging the cultural divide.
At the end of his speech, Professor Vitit announced that the whole amount received by him as the Prizewinner will be given for the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS in his country. This decision was wholeheartedly applauded by the audience.
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura also awarded the Honorary Diplomas and, for the first time in the history of the Prize, small bronze trophies to the four Honourable Mentions of the 2004 UNESCO Prize who came to Bangkok especially for the occasion: Professor David Jan McQuoid-Mason, Professor of Law at the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa; Dr Anatoly Azarov, Founder and Director of the Moscow School of Human Rights, Russian Federation; the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, an international network of representatives from faith communities, NGOs and academia based in Norway, represented by Mr Dag Nygård, its Chairperson; and the Peruvian Institute of Education in Human Rights and Peace, represented by its Director, Dr Pablo Zavala Sarrio.
The Ceremony was organized by the Sector of Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO and the UNESCO Bangkok Office in close co-operation with the National Commission of Thailand for UNESCO and the Ministry of Education. It was attended by representatives of the Government, the diplomatic corps, the human rights community and academic circles and was widely covered by the mass media.
In Bangkok, the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education was awarded for the 14th time since its creation in 1978 to mark the 30th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Professor Abdelfattah Amor, Chairperson of the Jury of the Prize and of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, underlined in his speech that “this Prize aims to encourage and to support educators, trainers and researchers, as well as organizations and institutions which strive every day to ensure that human rights are understood and adhered to by the largest possible number of people and to make human rights education an on-going struggle so that the people’s minds are protected against the sinister impact of prejudice, hatred, intolerance and discrimination”.
The Prize will be awarded for the next time in 2006.
Vladimir Volodin, Irina Zoubenko
Contact: uphre@unesco.org
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| Author(s) |
UNESCO |
| Publication Date |
18-05-2005 |
| Source |
UNESCO |
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