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PAX CHRISTI INTERNATIONAL PEACE AWARD

Pax Christi International makes it a point to honour men and women who stand up for peace, justice and non-violence in different parts of the world.

In publications and posters, Pax Christi Member Organisations often tell the stories of well-known peace heroes such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, Franz Jägerstätter and the martyrs of El Salvador.

But we do not look only into the past for our heroes. Pax Christi International makes an annual peace award to a contemporary figure who is working against violence and injustice, usually at the grassroots level.

PEACE PRIZE LAUREATES [1988-2012]:

2012

Msgr. Dr. John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, for his efforts in promoting understanding between people of different faiths through dialogue in Africa, and particularly in his country, Nigeria.

2011

PONTANIMA, Interreligious choir from Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina, illustrating the peace-building potential of religions and the healing power music brings to people who suffer.

2010

Msgr. Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Iraq, for being a prominent defender of Iraq’s endangered minorities and a staunch advocate of the difficult democratization and reconciliation process in Iraq.

2009

Ms. Justine Masika Bihamba, in Goma, North Kivu (DRCongo), for her work improving the lives of rural women, defend human rights and assist victims of war, especialy women who have been targeted by acts of sexual violence.

2008

Franciscan Dom Luiz Flávio Cappio, bishop of Barra in the state of Bahia, Brazil, for his nonviolent action in favour of the fisher folk and river inhabitants endangered by the Sâo Francisco river transposition project, as well as to the local community itself that was so active in the movement against the river transposition project.

2007

The Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace in Tokyo, Japan, for its commitment to healing women of wartime sexual violence through therapeutic methods by sharing feelings in comfortable atmospheres.

2006

Ms Ogarit Younan, a founding member of the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights as well as the Arab Non-Violence Network, for her zeal in promoting non-violence and democracy through housing initiatives and publications.

Mr Rami Khoury, a Palestinian-Jordanian and veteran editor, columnist and reporter for the Lebanese English Language Paper, the Daily Star, for his work (among other things) as a member of the Brookings Institution Task Force on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World and a frequent lecturer on Middle Eastern issues at conferences and universities throughout the world.

2005

Jacques Delors, a French statesman and former European Commission President for his vision and contribution to peace and security on the continent, in addition to his efforts in strengthening Europe’s role in peace building around the world.

2004

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Brazilian UN High Commissioner for Human Rights And UN Special Representative in Iraq, for being a champion of peace and human dignity worldwide and for giving his life to his work.

2003

Franjo Starcevic, for founding the Peace School in Mrkopalj, Croatia.

2002

Father Roberto Layson (Philippines) for building a culture of peace among Christians, Muslims and indigenous people in an area of armed conflict.

2001

Eddie Kneebone, for promoting reconciliation between young Australians.

Ms Teesta Setavald, an Indian journalist and tireless campaigner for greater inter-religious dialogue in Asia.

2000

Ann Pettifor and Laura Vargas, from the United Kingdom and Peru respectively, for their work on the Jubilee 2000 campaign to cancel the debts of developing countries.

1999

The Clonard Fitzroy Fellowship from Northern Ireland, for their Catholic-Presbyterian initiative to unite people in a divided community.

1998

Laurien Ntezimana and Father Modeste Mungwarareba for training young leaders in Rwanda to be agents of reconciliation between ethnic groups.

1997

Father Domingos Soares and Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz for their work on education, development and dignity of people in poor communities in East Timor.

1996

Franjo Komarica, bishop of Banja Luka, Hadzi Halilovic, mufti of Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Jelena Santic (Serbia) and Gordana Stojanovic (Croatia) for promoting reconciliation amidst the hostilities.

1995

Janina Ochojska, founder of the Poland Humanitarian Action, for organising humanitarian relief convoys to Chechnya and the former Yugoslavia.

1994

Father José Mpundu E’Booto from Zaire, co-founder of the Groupe Amos, for fighting against corruption and promoting justice, peace and democracy.

1993

Ray Williams and Dorraine Booth-Williams from the USA, members of the Swinomish American Indian nation, for promoting the cultures and traditions of indigenous peoples in Central, North and South America.

1992

Joaquim Pinto de Andrade, founding member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation in Angola, for his advocacy for freedom and civil rights and for his contribution to the post-war reconstruction of his country.

1991

Osservatorio Meridionale, a research centre in Italy, for challenging the power of the Mafia and promoting development in poor areas of southern Italy.

1990

Dana Nemcova, a Czech woman who championed the cause of human rights and democratic values whilst enduring periods of detention and separation from her family.

1989

Father Luis Pérez Aguirre, for enduring repeated torture and imprisonment by the military dictatorship in Uruguay due to his non-violent activities for justice and human rights.

1988

Margarida Maria Alves, president of the Farmworkers Union in Brazil, for giving her life in the struggle for the rights of poor rural workers. She was assassinated in 1983.