Karapatan's Cristina Palabay among laureates of Franco-German Human Rights award

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay has been included in the laureates of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law award.

Palabay, who leads the national association Karapatan, has been bringing together human rights defenders and organizations since 2010.

The French diplomatic service website said Palabay had supported victims in court and fight against restrictions on civil liberties by the Duterte administration.

Palabay is also a co-founder of the Gabriela Women's Party, which promotes women's rights and speaks up against violence on women.

In her message in accepting the award, Palabay honored her fellow human rights defenders and activists.

"I, we, stand with all of you today — unburied by those who wanted to take life and our rights away from all of us. This recognition, the Franco-German Human Rights Prize and the Rule of Law, is not only for me: it is for each and every person who believes in defending and advancing people’s rights," Palabay said.

She also vowed that they will continue to fight for justice despite the constant attacks and harassment against human rights defenders.

"They tried to bury us — human rights workers who work and struggle with communities that have been deprived of rights, freedoms, and liberties. They didn’t know we are seeds," said Palabay.

"The kind of seeds that grow in the most brutal environment of political storms. The kind of seeds that cry for justice, for accountability, for freedom," she added.

Other recipients of the award last December 12 are:

Afghan human rights defender Shaharzad Akbar
Chinese human rights lawyer Chang Weiping
Haiti lawyer  Jacques Letang
Tanzanian rights defender Noelah Godfrey Msuya
Erika Lorena Aifán Dávila
German-Lebanese documentary-maker Monika Borgmann
Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi
Human rights worker Nebahat Akkoç
Venezuelan NGO PROVEA
Jake Epelle  of The Albinism Foundation
Benin rights defender Alexandrine Victoire Saizonou
Investigative journalist Tabelo Timse
Ajna Jusic
Gender Equality Network director May Sabe Phyu

The Franco-German Human Rights and the Rule of Law Prize was created in 2016 to honor human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists globally.

The award reaffirms the commitment of France and Germany to human rights and the rule of law and boost both nations' cooperation in these issues.—LDF, GMA News