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“Torture has historically been an instrument of oppression - not an instrument of investigation or of intelligence gathering. Torture is the professional disease of any investigative machinery.”
— Vladimir Bukovsky
Inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent Awarded to Ai Weiwei, Manal al-Sharif, and Aung San Suu Kyi
May 2, 2012
NEW YORK (May 2, 2012)—The inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent will be awarded to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Saudi women’s rights advocate Manal al-Sharif, and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The three laureates will be honored at the Havel Prize ceremony at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway on May 9.
An initiative of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF), the Havel Prize was founded with the support of Dagmar Havlová, Václav Havel’s widow.
"This is a magnificent way to honor the memory of Vaclav Havel—by recognizing those who, with bravery and ingenuity, unmask the lie of dictatorship by living in truth," said Havlova, a member of the prize committee. [more]
Human Rights Without Borders
April 19, 2012
By JOHN H. FUND
TOO OFTEN THE TERM "human rights" has been misused or cheapened. Take the UN Human Rights Council, which has become a standing joke because so many of its 47 member countries kill or torture their opponents. Indeed, the latest candidate for membership put up by Latin America is Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, which in February refused to vote for a UN resolution criticizing Syria's brutal killing of civilians and continues to ship oil to the Assad regime.
The Oslo Freedom Forum, an annual event organized by the New York-based Human Rights Foundation, is rehabilitating the concept that people of good will can promote basic rights in all nations at all times without an overlay of ideology or hypocrisy. Indeed, at the meeting...[more]
The Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent
April 11, 2012
"We are thrilled to have the distinction of stewarding a prize that will celebrate those who engage in creative dissent, exhibiting courage and creativity to challenge injustice and live in truth. We cannot think of a more fitting way to acclaim the legacy of Václav Havel than...[more]
Leaders Unite at the 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum; Stand Against Dictatorship, Censorship, and Slavery
April 6, 2012
The fourth annual Oslo Freedom Forum—to be held on May 7, 8, and 9—will bring the most daunting humanitarian issues of our time out of the shadows and into the forefront of global discussions.
In the course of the three-day event, speakers will expose repression in Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, West Papua, and Zimbabwe. They will be joined by an array of human rights defenders and activists from Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United States, and several other nations.
Drawn from the fields of academia, advocacy, business, media, policy, and technology, speakers will include: Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales; Google Ideas principal Scott Carpenter; embattled Singaporean opposition leader Chee Soon Juan; Pakistani women's rights champion Asma Jahangir...[more]
The Brin Wojcicki Foundation to Sponsor 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum
March 14, 2012
NEW YORK (March 14, 2012)—The Oslo Freedom Forum is delighted to announce the support of the Brin Wojcicki Foundation for the 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum. Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki established the foundation. Brin is the co-founder of Google, and Wojcicki is the co-founder of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company.
The Brin Wojcicki Foundation has awarded $250,000 to sponsor the Oslo Freedom Forum. "We are thrilled that the Brin Wojcicki Foundation has prioritized investing in a community devoted to preserving and promoting freedom and individual rights around the world," said Oslo Freedom Forum founder, Thor Halvorssen. [more]
Our Programs
HRF's programs are designed to further global understanding of recurring threats to freedom in the Americas. Our programs provide education about what constitutes a free society, why freedom matters, and how freedom is nurtured, developed, and sustained. [more]
Our Reports
HRF will research and report on human rights abuses with a particular focus on prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. [more]
Our Vision
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals find their purest expression in the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to worship in the manner of their choice, to associate with those of like mind, to acquire and dispose of property, and to leave and enter their countries.
Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the government of their countries; HRF's ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile, from slavery and torture, and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. [more]
Human Rights Foundation | 350 Fifth Avenue, #4515 | New York, NY 10118
Phone: (212) 246-8486 | Fax: (212) 643-4278 | info@thehrf.org