The Reebok Human Rights Award Program seeks nominations of young human rights act

Members of the international community of human rights andnon-governmental organizations are urged to nominate young men and women to honor for their courage and contributions to further human rights

The Reebok Human Rights Award was established in 1988, and has since then, provided 72 young activists from 34 countries support and encouragement at a critical time in their advocacy work. The award, which seeks to shine a positive, international light on the awardees and to support their work in human rights, provides recipients with a $50,000 grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation for the human rights organization of their choice.

Human rights and non-governmental organizations are urged to nominate young men and women to receive the award. Candidates must be 30 years of age or younger. They cannot advocate violence or belong to an organization that advocates violence, and they must be working on an issue that directly relates to the United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Women and men of all races, ethnic groups, nationalities, and religious backgrounds are eligible.

Past Reebok award recipients have been recognized for their work on such issues as: fighting for Native American land rights; protesting human rights abuses in Tibet; battling racial bias in the death penalty in the United States; protecting children in Zambia from physical and sexual abuse; monitoring human rights abuses in Nigeria; and combatting sex trafficking in South Asia.

The award has had remarkable impact on the work of past recipients. For example, when he received his Reebok Human Rights Award in 1995, Richard Nsanzabaganwa had been facing a personal dilemma whether to continue his human rights work in war-torn Rwanda, where nearly all of his family members had been killed in a massacre the previous year. "After receiving the award," Richard says, "I realized that people should not belong to themselves, but should belong to others. The award has helped to push me to go forward."

Application materials are provided below.

All interested individuals are encouraged to make nominations no later than May 31, 2003. Recipients will be selected by December 1, 2003.

For more information, visit www.reebok.com/humanrights or e-mail rhraward@reebok.com

Deadline: May 31, 2003 Website: www.reebok.com/humanrights