REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE INAUGURAL FRONT LINE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AWARD
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURAL FRONT LINE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AWARD, DUBLIN CITY HALL, DAME ST
Dia dhíbh ar maidin a dhaoine uaisle.
We are among the most privileged of people in our world today. We meet in freedom, in an open, peaceful and prosperous democracy. Our system, while it can make no claims to perfection, is underpinned by a system of formidable checks and balances designed to protect and vindicate the rights of the individual. It is a system born out of an experience and a memory of very, very different times, cruel times which regrettably endure in too many parts of the world. Wherever rights are trampled on and human beings are persecuted, their hopes for freedom rest on the courage and concern of champions like the man Front Line honours today, the recipient of its Inaugural Human Rights Defender Award, Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam of Sudan – a man who has himself been deprived of his freedom, yet again, and as a result cannot be here today to accept the award in person. We welcome Dr. Mudawi’s wife Sabah Mohamed Adam Ali and daughter Huda to Ireland but regret the difficult circumstances in which we meet you today. Our thoughts are with Dr. Mudawi and you both at this time and we hope that he will enjoy his freedom again very, very soon.
For that rare breed of men and women who unselfishly engage in the dangerous work of challenging corruption and oppression, on the ground, it is important to them to know their work registers in the wider world. Front Line is the outward sign of their effectiveness and of the world’s interest in their cause. This still relatively young organisation has helped to bring to world attention the many scandalous cases where people have been persecuted and imprisoned for their work in the field of human rights – stories that most likely would never otherwise have been told. It has pointed the finger of the world at those who would oppress, narrowing their room for manoeuvre, putting international accountability on their agenda. It has given renewed confidence and energy to those involved in the noble work of non-violent protection and advancement of human rights in situations where those rights are outrageously ignored and where human rights activism is undertaken at huge personal risk.
It is a matter of pride to us that Ireland is seen throughout the world as a country which offers practical empathy and support to those who have urgent need of human rights defenders. One of the key priorities in the field of human rights during the recent Irish Presidency of the European Union was the adoption by member states of Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. The Guidelines aim to mainstream concern for these remarkable individuals, these forces for good in our world, in EU foreign policy. We owe a debt of gratitude to Front Line who played a catalytic role throughout the process, providing insight and assistance at every stage.
Today is a landmark in the development and growth of Front Line and it is, we hope, a landmark day too for Dr. Mudawi. We are sorry that he is not with us to share this occasion but we offer him the congratulations and the encouragement of this audience and the Irish people.
As Director of the Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO), Dr. Mudawi has been profoundly involved in humanitarian and human rights work throughout Sudan but of course the dreadful misery that is Darfur has consumed much of his recent work and focus. He has paid a high personal price for that work - harassment, imprisonment, false allegations, solitary confinement. He has protested through hunger strike and faces an uncertain future. He has earned this award the hard way. He has also earned our respect but of course what he yearns for is probably none of those things but rather the kind of national and international pressure which would render his work unnecessary.
Dr. Mudawi’s story is not unique as Frontline knows from the many stories it had to sift through to determine today’s winner. There are men and women like him suffering in many other places in order to create a better world. Their personal grit and determination should humble us and they should harness our resolve to be with them, co-defenders of human rights whether they are threatened on our own doorsteps or in any other part of our shared but fragile world. Front Line’s work on behalf of these remarkable people highlights and celebrates not just the bravery of this one outstanding man but acts also as a symbolic encouragement to human rights defenders everywhere. May Dr. Mudawi, his wife, and daughter live to see in Sudan the peaceful, egalitarian, inclusive and democratic society their hearts long for and that justice demands, and may his work and that of Frontline hasten the day of its delivery.
Go raibh maith agaibh.