Khaled Quzmar
PALESTINIAN
Human rights lawyer, children's rights advocate, civil society leader
Heroes
Human rights defenders who have been recognized for their courage and commitment. This page opens with our Latest laureates - the most recently added - followed by our Top 100, a curated selection of human rights defenders and organisations. Explore all in HRD Awards
Alcántara Cuba
PERUVIAN
Human rights defender, environmental activist, community advocate, NGO Worker, Artist
Ahmadreza Haeri
IRANIAN
Civil rights activist, labor rights defender, NGO Worker
Ljiljana Nešić
SERBIAN
lawyer, human rights activist, civil society advocate, NGO Worker
Umar Khalid
INDIAN
activist, student leader, researcher, NGO Worker
Adda Vyctoria Caetano
BRAZILIAN
activist, human rights defender, NGO Worker, Health personnel
Laurinda Manuel Gouveia
ANGOLAN
Human rights defender, civil society activist, NGO Worker
Irina Levchenko
UKRAINIAN
civic activist, human rights defender, Journalist
Timothy Dolan
AMERICAN
Cardinal, Archbishop, Author, Theologian, Cleric
Georgian Young Lawyers' Association
GEORGIAN
Human rights organization, Legal aid provider, Civil society organization, Election monitoring, Policy advocacy, Lawyer
100All heroes · Most awarded first
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Showing our curated selection of top heroes. Show all 3,475 heroes
Asma Jahangir
PAKISTAN
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
SOUTH AFRICA
Politician
Denis Mukwege
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
Sima Samar
AFGHANISTAN
Václav Havel
CZECH REPUBLIC
Malala Yousafzai
PAKISTAN
Kofi Annan (SG)
GHANA
Aliaksandr (Ales) Bialiatski
BELARUS
Tenzin Dalai Lama
CHINA
Natasa Kandic
SERBIA
Lawyer, NGO Worker
Narges Mohammadi
IRAN
Lawyer, NGO Worker
Nasrin Sotoudeh
IRAN
Lawyer, NGO Worker
Bryan Stevenson
USA
Chen Guagcheng
CHINA
Sergei Kovalyov
RUSSIA
Doctors without Borders Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
SWITZERLAND
Memorial
RUSSIA
Sadako Ogata
JAPAN
Mary Robinson
ALGERIA, IRELAND
Desmond Mpilo Tutu
SOUTH AFRICA
Amnesty International
UNITED KINGDOM
ERRC European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
BELGIUM
Vladimir Kara-Murza
RUSSIA
Elie Wiesel
USA
Artist, Teacher
Lydia Cacho
MEXICO
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
SWITZERLAND
Xiaobo Liu
CHINA
María Corina Machado
VENEZUELA
Navanethem (Navi) Pillay
SOUTH AFRICA
Diplomat, Judge
Maria Ressa
PHILIPPINES
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
LIBERIA
Ilham Tohti
CHINA
Muhammad Yunus
BANGLADESH
Louise Arbour
CANADA
Jimmy Carter
USA
Farmer, Politician
Michael Gorbachev
RUSSIA
Aminatou Haidar
WESTERN SAHARA (MOROCCO)
Khadija Ismayilova
AZERBAIJAN
Ladies in White (las Damas de Blanco), Cuba
CUBA
Cynthia Maung
MYANMAR (BURMA)
Angela Merkel
GERMANY
Elena Milashina
RUSSIA
Beatrice Mtetwa
ZIMBABWE
Lawyer, NGO Worker
Kailash Satyarthi
INDIA
Lech Wałesa
POLAND
Waleed Sami Abu al-Khair
SAUDI ARABIA
al-Haq (Palestine)
PALESTINE
Intigam Aliyev
AZERBAIJAN
Lawyer, NGO Worker
B'Tselem
ISRAEL
Raif Badawi
SAUDI ARABIA
Jineth Bedoya Lima
COLOMBIA
Radhika Coomaraswamy
SRI LANKA
Kim Dae-jung
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF KOREA (SOUTH)
Mazen Darwish
SYRIA
Ali Ferzat
SYRIA
Svetlana Gannushkina
RUSSIA
Amira Hass
ISRAEL
John Hume
UNITED KINGDOM
Hina Jilani
PAKISTAN
Martin Luther King jr
USA
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
BRAZIL
Julienne Lusenge
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
Wangari Maathai
KENYA
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa
BURUNDI
Nadia Murad Basee
IRAQ
Paw Oo Tun
MYANMAR (BURMA)
Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al Hussein
JORDAN
Zackie Achmat
SOUTH AFRICA
Nebahat Akkoc
TURKEY
Loujain Al Hathloul
SAUDI ARABIA
Zulkiflee Sm Anwar Ulhaque
MALAYSIA
Marguerite Barankitse
BURUNDI
Cherif Bassiouni
EGYPT
Sihem Bensedrine
TUNISIA
Benazir Bhutto
PAKISTAN
Theo van Boven
NETHERLANDS
Thomas Buergenthal
USA
Casa Alianza (Americas)
COSTA RICA
Noam Chomsky
USA
Hillary Diane Clinton
USA
Lawyer, Politician
Vian Dakhil
IRAQ
Shirin Ebadi
IRAN
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism campaign)
THAILAND
Daniel Ellsberg
USA
Akbar Ganji
IRAN
Baltasar Garzon Real
SPAIN
Bogaletch Gebre
ETHIOPIA
Salima Ghezali
ALGERIA
Richard Goldstone
SOUTH AFRICA
Xanana Gusmão
EAST TIMOR
Thomas Hammarberg
SWEDEN
Stephane Hessel
FRANCE
Wei Jingsheng
CHINA
Graca Machel
MOZAMBIQUE
NGO Worker, Politician
Taslima Nasreen
BANGLADESH, SWEDEN
One Million Signatures or Campaign for Equality
IRAN
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
CUBA
Parents Circle-Families Forum (PCFF)
ISRAEL
Fartuun Adan
SOMALIA
Khurram Parvez
INDIA
Lawyer, NGO Worker