EU lauds Saudi elections, award Challiot prize to women group

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Tuesday 15 Dec 2015 - 13:42 Makkah mean time-4-3-1437 Riyadh, (IINA) - The head of the EU delegation to Saudi Arabia Ambassador Adam Kulach said on Monday that the election of 20 Saudi women for municipal councils in various parts of Saudi Arabia was a cornerstone achievement for women’s initiatives not only in the Kingdom but for the whole region, Arab News reported. Ambassador Kulach made his observation at awarding ceremony for the annual Chaillot Prize for the promotion of human rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in 2015. Baladi Initiative, a Saudi women’s group that works for women empowerment and was actively engaged in the just concluded municipal election, won the Local Civil Society Organization Award. The other winner of that award was Thulatha Cultural Forum. Meanwhile, the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Ibrahim Al-Muqaiteeb for his active role in the peaceful promotion of human rights. The winners represented public or private institutions as well as individuals for their efforts in promoting general awareness of human rights and the rights of vulnerable groups in the GCC region. “Human rights is the core of our values from the very beginning”, Ambassador Kulach said in his speech, adding that because the EU was created just after World War II at a period where there were no human rights bodies and such bodies should be the utmost solution to many human rights violation. He noted that the EU has chosen the winners for their role in defending human rights and devoting their life to promoting it. He said that Baladi Initiative was not only empowering Saudi women by speaking in their voice but also supported women’s activities in different fields, and the most recent of this was their active engagement in the municipal elections. The Chaillot Prize, named after the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, is awarded to organizations in order to acknowledge and encourage their remarkable efforts and work for the promotion and protection of human rights. The prize is presented annually by the delegation of the European Union in Riyadh. Norwegian Ambassador Rolf Willy Hansen said that civil society activists are doing crucial work, noting that human rights are a vital element of the EU foreign policy to which Norway gives great importance. “We are happy to see the recipients today being recognized,” he said. AG/IINA