Tuesday 06, December 2016
Información para la Prensa N°: 425/16
Today, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, together with Secretary for Human Rights and Cultural and Cultural Pluralism Claudio Avruj, presided over the ceremony in which the Emilio F. Mignone International Prize was awarded to the Nigerian civil organization Bring Back Our Girls, a civil movement that demands the recovery of the Nigerian kidnapped students alive.
Malcorra stated that "it is a great honour and satisfaction to award" the Emilio Mignone prize to the Nigerian organization, and highlighted that "the fight of the organization is not only a fight to recover the girls so that they may lead as normal a life as possible, but also to defend the right to education of girls and boys, because only through education will it be possible to build a fairer and more equitable society. We must acknowledge not only the organization's direct claim regarding the girls, but also the broader claim concerning the right to education for all but particularly for girls, because this will make an enormous difference in the long term."
During the ceremony held in the Libertador Room of the Palacio San Martín, Malcorra stated that "although our countries are far away and it might seem that Nigeria's reality is alien to us, we have lived a different kind of terrorism. We must work on the issues that unite us and that is what we wish to do today by thanking the organization for its permanent work to achieve the goal of recovering the girls through the fight against violent extremism in the context of Nigeria's particular reality —work that can be compared to Argentina's condemnation of the human rights violations committed during the last military dictatorship, summarized in the statement "Nunca Más" (Never again)."
"Argentina's acknowledgement of the work aimed at defending human rights — in particular the defence of the victims of forced disappearances— is a very powerful symbol that brings us closer to the world and to Africa, where many of these battles are taking place; a symbol that makes us part of this chaotic and complex world in which we live, where violent terrorism is crushing the most fundamental institutions," added Malcorra.
"Argentina and Nigeria are closer than ever because we have the same enemies, regardless of the country in which we live," affirmed the Argentine Foreign Minister this afternoon at the award ceremony, which was attended by Chinweokwu Uzoamaka Madubuike and Yesufu Aisha, representatives of Bring Back Our Girls, as well as by Cecilia Ales, representative of non-governmental organization CELS, and Isabel Mignone, in representation of the Mignone family.
Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) works on the protection and relocation of internally displaced people in the northeast of Nigeria and conducts actions aimed at putting an end to kidnappings and mass killings. The organization also promotes the comprehensive development of the worst affected and vulnerable regions of Nigeria. It does not have a political, religious or ethnic affiliation and it receives no external funding.
The Emilio F. Mignone International Prize has been awarded annually since 2007 as an acknowledgement by Argentina to foreign institutions and individuals residing abroad who stand out for their work on the promotion and protection of human rights in their countries of origin. The prize is inspired by the work of Emilio Fermín Mignone, founder of the Centre of Legal and Social Studies (CELS), an attorney and educator and the emblematic leader of the Argentine movement for the defence of human rights during the last military dictatorship.