The political groups in the European Parliament presented their candidates for the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (see EUROPE 12331/21) at a joint meeting of the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Development and the Sub-Committee on Human Rights.
Portuguese MEPs Isabel Santos, for the S&D group, and Marisa Matias, for the GUE/NGL group, defended the candidacy of three Brazilians: Chief Raoni, an emblematic figure in the fight against deforestation in the Amazon, Claudelice Silva dos Santos, a defender of human rights and the environment and posthumously, Marielle Franco, an LGBTIQA human rights activist, murdered in March 2018.
Recalling that more than 170 human rights and environmental activists had lost their lives in 2018 and that the perpetrators of these crimes remained unpunished, Mrs Santos said that awarding the Prize to these three Brazilians would send "a strong message on the protection of the environment and the protection of human rights defenders". "Brazil is going through a turbulent period, we are seeing a reassessment of freedom of thought. These people have made an extraordinary contribution to human rights", added Mrs Matias.
Marielle Franco is also proposed by the Greens/EFA group and 43 other MEPs, alongside the Brazilian MP currently in exile and defender of LGBTIQA rights, Jean Wyllys. Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA, Germany) recalled that Brazil had the highest crime rate against LGBTI people. "We must hear their voices, defend their struggle", she argued.
Sandra Kalniete and Michael Gahler, on behalf of the EPP, defended the candidacy of Russian political opponent Alexei Navalny. According to the first, awarding him the prize would be "a very strong support to the opposition and civil society in Russia", but also to the "struggle for democracy and human rights".
China's Uighur minority rights activist, Ilham Tohti, is supported by Renew Europe. "The voices of people that are prevented from speaking should be heard", said Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Bulgaria), recalling that more than one million Uighurs were in a rehabilitation centre. Mr Bütikhofer, for the Greens, also supported Mr Tohti.
Finally, the ‘Restorers’, five Kenyan teenage girls who two years ago created the i-Cut application to help girls affected by female genital mutilation (FGM), are presented by the ECR. Assita Kanko (Belgium) called for support for these young girls, the voice of emancipation. "They could have decided to remain passive and weeping, but they decided to act and help", she explained, recalling that seven little girls are victims of mutilation every minute worldwide.
The three finalists will be elected on October 8 and the winner will be announced on October 24. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)