Following the initiative of the Villa Decius Association, the Prize of Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2002-2003) was established in 2003 with an aim to promote human rights, democracy, and tolerance and had its first edition already in 2004. The Prize is awarded annually to individuals and non-governmental organizations for their special contributions to the peaceful coexistence and interaction of societies, religions and cultures.
Candidates for the Award can be individuals and institutions from Poland and abroad. The Award Chapter includes representatives of: the President of the Republic of Poland, the Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Embassies and Consulates supporting the Association’s activities in the field of human rights, the President of the Institute of National Remembrance (until 2020), the Ombudsman for Civil Rights, the Founders and Initiators of the Award – the ZNAK Foundation and the Villa Decius Association, and from 2020 the Mayor of the City of Krakow. Previous Laureates of the Award include Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Sergey Kovalev, Shevah Weiss, Pietro Bartolo, Tamila Tasheva and the late Pawel Adamowicz.
We invite you to nominate candidates and institutions for the Prize:
in the category Person: Application FORM
https://forms.gle/Zy3wTdkPamyKrFQn9
in the category Non-Governmental Organisation: Application FORM
https://forms.gle/JFMEXP9KPfCusSsYA
Applications can be submitted until August 20, 2023.
The meeting of the Award Committee will be held on September 13, 2023. The Award Ceremony will take place on October 26, 2023.
The winners will receive a statuette by Andrzej Renes, a commemorative diploma, and a financial award funded by the Sponsors.
Honorary patronage over the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Polish Prize, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, included:
AMBASSADOR OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL IN POLAND, H.E. Haroldo de Macedo Ribeiro
AMBASSADOR OF THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN IN POLAND, H.E. Stefan Gulgren
UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, Kevin Allen
Rules of the Prize – click here!
