Basil Fernando, the executive director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in Hong Kong, has been awarded the second Kwangju Human Rights Award. The first Kwangju Prize for Human Rights was given to East Timor independence leader Xanana Gusmao in 2000. The award ceremony will take place on May 18, 2001, in the south Korean city of Kwangju. In announcing the award, the award committee explained its decision for selecting this year's recipient:

"In granting the award, the original purpose of the prize must always be kept in mind: to recognise a person or organisation that best promotes and protects human rights in the Asian region, a part of the world that shares with us in Korea a similar historical experience. It is for this reason that Basil Fernando has been chosen this year as he is one of the most prominent and passionate human rights activists in the region. He has tirelessly sought to promote the human rights of Asia's people, especially those who have been the most neglected and oppressed.

"Mr. Fernando also has a strong belief that the Kwangju uprising on May 18, 1980, is a positive symbol of the commitment and courage of the human rights movement in Asia and of what it can achieve. Because of this conviction, he has organised many seminars, workshops and international events in order to spread the spirit of the Kwangju uprising to others in Asia. He has thus significantly contributed to enhancing the international image of Kwangju through these activities that he has promoted and organised.

"Reflecting the desire to spread the spirit of Kwangju on May 18, 1980, throughout the world, we cannot but feel a deep sense of thanks and friendship for his endeavour to recognise Kwangju as 'the city of human rights and peace' to all of Asia's people beyond the Korean Peninsula through organising the Asian Conference to Declare the Asian Human Rights Charter that was held in Kwangju from May 13 to 20, 1998, at which more than 30 Asian human rights leaders attended.

"As a prominent human rights activist, he has criticised the bureaucratic system of existing international human rights organisations, including the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). He has sought to overcome the problems associated with these large bureaucratic organisations by trying to establish a human rights organisation which is rooted in the people and that places the people themselves at the centre of the human rights movement.

"We believe that his selection as the recipient of the second Kwangju Prize for Human Rights will give courage and hope to all of those who are actively struggling for human rights, peace and democracy in Asia."

In response to his selection, Fernando said, "I feel both honoured and humbled by this decision. I accept this award on behalf of myself and my colleagues and associates of the Asian Human Rights Commission and Asian Legal Resource Centre with whom my work is intertwined. I hope the occasion of this award will provide us with a further opportunity to rededicate ourselves for a future in which all of us - men, women and children - can live with dignity and without humiliation."

Asked about his vision for the human rights movement, Fernando said, "There should be an intense dialogue between the people of good will in the South and the North on all issues affecting human rights. The powerful governments and multinational companies will continue with extremely destructive policies for our societies and the environment. Only strong movements of people will be able to obstruct such a course and ensure sustainable and harmonious development."

Fernando also believes that the promotion and protection of human rights has to become a people's movement:

"For a long time, the human rights movement has consisted of small groups who are often from the more educated classes. However, it is time for the ordinary people to participate in these movements and for human rights to become a topic that is discussed in everyday life. This is even more necessary today; for in almost all parts of Asia, there is a rapid breakdown of law and order and an increase of intense violence. The people themselves have to take the initiative in seeking reforms, such as police reforms, judicial reforms and reforms of the justice system. Furthermore, the human rights of the most neglected groups should be given prominence, for example, the issue of Dalits in India who have been at the bottom of society for thousands of years. There are similar groups in all parts of Asia. Unless people themselves take the initiative to develop and expand the human rights movement, the elite groups will engage in displacing democracy because the elites in Asia find the expansion of social equality to be a threat to them."