Five South Sudanese human rights defenders were recognized and given awards by the South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN) for their outstanding work in promoting rights.
The awards were given during the commemoration of International Human Rights Defenders Day, a day observed internationally on 10 December to honour the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human rights.
As a way of celebrating the day, SSHRDN recognized five individuals in the six categories of outstanding Human Rights Defender (HRD) of the year, women HRD of the year, HRD of the year for Persons with Disabilities Rights, Greater Equatoria HRD of the year, Greater Upper Nile HRD of the year, and Greater Bar El Ghazal HRD of the year respectively.
The five winners in order of categories were Godfrey Victor Bulla, Jackeline Nashwa, Zakia M Ahmed, Hawa Adams, and Bol Deng. The sixth slot remained vacant because no one was nominated.
John Alor Akoi, a member of the SSHRDN secretariat and the awarding committee, told Radio Tamazuj said the call for nominations for the awards was advertised on social media but that places like Greater Bahr El Ghazal did not have nominees because most parts of the region do not have internet access.
He said some of the conditions the awarding committee considered for this year’s awards were the number of nominations, leadership skills, and level of engagement a person has with citizens.
“We have decided to celebrate this day by awarding some of the outstanding human rights defenders. Of course, you know the network has many members across all the ten states,” Akoi said. “It is also historical and showcases to the world the work some of these human rights defenders have been doing.”
On her part, Zakia Ahmed commended SSHRDN for recognizing her efforts in fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities.
“I want to recognize and give thanks to SSHRDN and Community Empowerment for Progress Organisations (CEPO) which is a member of the Network),” Ahmed said.
She stressed that it is very important to recognize the rights of women and girls living with disability and to make sure they are not discriminated against.
Meanwhile, Godfrey Victor Bulla, the winner of the Outstanding Human Rights Defender of the year award, dedicated his award to people who were wrongly convicted simply because their cases were not properly followed.
“I dedicate this award to those who have been convicted even though procedures were not properly followed,” he said. “I also dedicate this award to a child who has been sentenced to death, Magai Matiop. I struggled up to the Supreme Court so that children in South Sudan are protected by the constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.