KUWAIT: The EU Ambassador to Kuwait Anne Koistinen presented the 2023 Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC region to the Kuwait Society for Human Rights. The European Union awards the Chaillot Prize every year for actions, campaigns, projects and lifetime achievements that favor human rights promotion and awareness in the GCC region. The Prize is named after the Palais de Chaillot in Paris where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
In her speech during the ceremony held at the EU residence in Kuwait, Ambassador Koistinen said: "I am honored to present the Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC region to the Kuwait Society for Human Rights for their unwavering dedication over the years to promoting and advancing human rights in Kuwait. I would like to highlight in particular their work in supporting and advocating for migrant workers’ rights in Kuwait and raising awareness about their labor rights. Engagement with the civil society in Kuwait is a very important part of EU delegation’s work, therefore I am looking forward to continuing our long-standing cooperation with the Kuwait Society for Human Rights.”
Khaled Al-Humaidi, President of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, said in his speech during the ceremony that ‘To be honored today by awarding us the Chaillot Prize for Human Rights is a great moral support for the Kuwait Society for Human Rights. This Society has taken upon itself the responsibility of defending human rights and promoting them in the Kuwaiti society through concerted efforts at the government and community levels.
We are delighted that the Chaillot Prize was granted to us for our tireless efforts in protecting the rights of migrant workers in Kuwait through the ‘Together Project’, which aims at raising awareness and protecting the rights of migrant workers in Kuwait. This project was implemented by the Kuwait Society for Human Rights in cooperation with the European Union delegation in Kuwait, the Netherlands Embassy, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in addition to the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).’
For the EU, promoting and protecting human rights is at the heart of EU external policy as they are among the EU’s founding values of human dignity, freedom and respect of human rights. Cooperation on human rights and engagement with the civil society are an integral part of the relations between the European Union and all countries, including Kuwait. The European Union and Kuwait held their fourth Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels on December 5, 2023 , where the two sides exchanged about the latest developments on both sides and reiterated their commitment to an open and constructive dialogue to jointly address human rights challenges and share best practices.