On 24th October 2024, Roberta Metsola, President of European Parliament named María Corina Machado Parisca, the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela, and Edmundo González Urrutia, Venezuelan former presidential candidate, as the winners of ‘Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2024 (Sakharov Prize)’, the highest tribute paid by the European Union (EU) to human rights work.
- This award is given in recognition of their efforts to restore democracy and freedom in Venezuela.
- The official award ceremony for the Sakharov Prize 2024 will be held on 18th December, 2024 in Strasbourg, France, during the European Parliament’s plenary session.
About María Corina Machado Parisca:
i.María Corina was elected as the Venezuelan opposition’s presidential candidate in 2023 under the “Unity Democratic Platform(PUD)”. However, she was disqualified from the elections by the regime-controlled National Electoral Council (NEC).
ii.She was the elected member of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2011 to 2014.
iii.She has campaigned to safeguard democratic processes in Venezuela.
iv.She was listed as one of British Broadcasting Corporation’s(BBC) 100 Women in 2018.
About Edmundo González Urrutia:
i.Edmundo González Urrutia is a Venezuelan politician, diplomat, international analyst, and writer. He was the presidential candidate of the Unitary Platform political alliance for the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election.
ii.He served the as first secretary and business envoy and in Argentina as minister counselor. He also served as the Venezuelan ambassador to Algeria.
iii.He was also the director general of international policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1998. He also served as Venezuela’s Ambassador to Argentina until 2002.
iv.After dedicating decades to the foreign service, he pursued a political career. From 2009 to 2012, González was the international representative for the Democratic Unity Roundtable (UMD), a political opposition party.
About Sakharov Prize:
i.The award was established in 1988 and is awarded annually by the European Parliament to individuals or organisations defending human rights and democracy.
ii.The award is named after Soviet physicist and political dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov.
iii.The 1st Sakharov Prize was awarded in 1988 jointly to Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa and Anatoli Marchenko, Soviet dissident.
- The award carries a cash prize of 50,000 Euro.
iv.In 2023, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize to Iran’s Jina Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody and the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran.
