The Atlantic Council, an American think tank devoted to promoting transatlantic cooperation and international security, decided to dedicate the fourth edition of its Prize for Freedom to Emma Bonino*, for her long-standing struggle in defense of human rights and individual freedoms in the world.
The reasons:
Among the European personalities, the Council is pleased to pay tribute to her and to her tireless work in defense of human rights. Never afraid to take a stand on sensitive and important issues, she was a pioneer in the promotion of civil liberties and fundamental rights in Europe and worldwide. From the support to the establishment of the International Criminal Court and other ad hoc tribunals, to the efforts to set up the Arab Democracy Foundation, she has fought unreservedly to spread freedom in the countries whose citizens are deprived of by their governments. With this award we want to give recognition to her long-standing commitment and, in particular, more recently, to her efforts to promote human rights in the Middle East.
The Award ceremony will be held in Wroclaw tomorrow evening, Friday 1 June 2012, at the end of the first day of the 2012 Wroclaw Global Forum dedicated to the theme “Reinventing the West: Prosperity, Security and Democracy at Risk?”.
* Emma Bonino is Vice-President of the Italian Senate and founder of No Peace Without Justice
