Right Livelihood Award Foundation organised Solidarity Visit to India

Responding to the threats to the life and liberty of three Right Livelihood Award recipients from South Asia –Sima Samar (2012) from Afghanistan, and Medha Patkar (1991) and Swami Agnivesh (2004) both from India – the Right Livelihood Award Foundation organised a series of meetings in India from October 14-19.

All three Laureates are champions of human rights and their determination to expose human rights violations and speak truth to power has led to them facing numerous grave threats including, arrest, assault and attempted assassination.

The solidarity visit was truly successful in highlighting the work of all three Laureates and generating support for their causes. Meetings were set up with the Vice-President of India, Mohammed Hamid Ansari, and the Swedish and German Embassies. Also, three public events were organised: a felicitation for Sima Samar, an inter-religious dialogue in South Asia panel discussion and a field trip to Ranchi, where Laureates engaged with tribal activists in that region.