Palestinian, Filipino and Mozambican activists and a London think tank have been given a human rights award

STOCKHOLM (AP) – The Fair Life Prize was awarded Thursday to three activists from the Palestinian territories, the Philippines and Mozambique and to a pioneering UK research center that “has had a significant impact on their communities and on the world stage.”

“Their unwavering commitment to speaking out against the forces of oppression and exploitation, while firmly adhering to non-violent methods, resonates far from their communities,” the Stockholm-based foundation said of the winners. It considered 176 nominees from 72 countries this year.

Issa Amro, a human rights activist in the West Bank and her group, Youth Against Settlements, were awarded the prize for their “firm and non-violent resistance to Israel’s illegal aggression, promoting the Palestinian aggression by peaceful means.”

In the Philippines, Indigenous activist Joan Carling was cited for “raising the voices of Indigenous peoples in the face of global environmental degradation and their leadership in protecting people, lands and cultures.”

Anabela Lemos, Mozambican environmental activist and director of Justiça Ambiental!, was honored for “empowering communities to fight for their right to reject large-scale exploitative projects and demand environmental justice.” This is the first time that this award has gone to Mozambique.

Based at the University of London, Forensic Architecture was cited for “pioneering digital forensic methods to ensure justice and accountability for victims and survivors of human and environmental rights violations.”

Created in 1980, the annual Right Livelihood Award honors efforts that the founder of the award, the Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, felt had been overlooked by the Nobel Prizes. To date, 198 awardees from 77 countries have received this distinction.

“The 2024 winners show the power to resist violence and speak the truth, putting decisions in the hands of local communities,” said Ole von Uexkull, nephew of the prize’s founder and executive director of the organization.

Previous winners include Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Matviichuk, Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Matviichuk and Mukwege received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and 2018, respectively.

The 2024 prize winners will be awarded their prizes on Dec. 4 in Stockholm. The size of the prize amount has not been announced. The foundation said “the award comes with long-term support to highlight and expand the work of the beneficiaries.”