Monthly Archives: November 2010

Asma Jahangir awarded UN prize for human rights

UNITED NATIONS: One of Pakistan’s leading human rights defenders, Asma Jahangir, was Tuesday named as this year’s winner of a UN award that recognizes outstanding individual contribution to promoting a culture of human rights around the world.

The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), Irina Bokova, nominated Ms. Jahangir as laureate of this year’s Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights in recognition of her work in Pakistan’s Supreme Court where she championed the rights of religious minorities, women and children, according to a UN press release issued at UN Headquarters in New York.

Ms. Jahangir is the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and served as its Secretary-General and chairperson.

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Weliamuna Elected to Global Anti-Corruption Board

Constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate J. C. Weliamuna has been elected to the Board of Directors of Transparency International (TI) at the Annual Membership Meeting of the leading global movement against corruption, held in Bangkok.

Obtaining nearly 75% of the votes of the delegates representing 100 countries, he was first in the four-member contest. Two directors were elected on Tuesday. Jacques Terray of France was the other.

Weliamuna is the first Sri Lankan to be elected to this prestigious position at TI’s highest policy making body. As an anti-corruption activist, he steered TI’s national chapter – Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) as Executive Director for eight years.

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