Nominations open for Human Rights Recognition Awards

Deadline: 23-Nov-2026

The Human Rights Recognition Awards 2026 honor individuals and organizations demonstrating exceptional courage and resilience in protecting human rights during armed conflict, occupation, and insecurity. Three award categories offer CHF 1,000 prizes, while the Humanitarian Response Award is honorary and non-monetary, with all recipients gaining greater visibility and opportunities to connect with other human rights advocates.

About the Human Rights Recognition Awards 2026

The Human Rights Recognition Awards recognize individuals and organizations that take exceptional action to protect human dignity and human rights in challenging crisis situations. The 2026 edition highlights the courage and resilience of people defending human dignity and safety in some of the world’s most difficult crisis zones.

The recognized crisis contexts include:

The awards highlight practical action, innovative ideas, and tangible results that help affected populations remain safe and have their rights respected during crises. What Is the Purpose of the Awards? The awards aim to recognize exceptional efforts to uphold human dignity and promote human rights under difficult conditions. They recognize people and organizations working in conflict and crisis environments to: - Protect human rights. - Defend human dignity. - Support affected populations. - Document human rights violations. - Promote justice and accountability. - Strengthen conflict-affected communities. - Provide direct humanitarian and psychosocial support. - Develop practical responses to protection challenges. Award Categories The Human Rights Recognition Awards 2026 feature four categories.

The categories are:

- Award for the Protection of Human Rights in Armed Conflict. - Award for Documentation, Justice and Accountability. - Award for Human Dignity and Resilience in Conflict-Affected Communities. - Humanitarian Response Award. The first three categories each carry a CHF 1,000 prize, while the Humanitarian Response Award is honorary and does not include a monetary prize. Award for the Protection of Human Rights in Armed Conflict This category recognizes efforts to protect and defend human rights in situations involving armed conflict, occupation, and insecurity. It can recognize practical work such as advocacy, legal assistance, monitoring, prevention, and direct support for people facing human rights risks. Award for Documentation, Justice and Accountability This category recognizes work focused on documenting violations and advancing justice and accountability.

Relevant activities may include:

- Evidence collection. - Monitoring. - Legal advocacy. - Victim representation. - Documentation of human rights violations. - Efforts to strengthen accountability. The award highlights initiatives that help ensure violations are documented and affected people have access to appropriate justice and protection mechanisms. Award for Human Dignity and Resilience in Conflict-Affected Communities This category recognizes initiatives that strengthen human dignity and resilience within communities affected by conflict.

Recognized activities may include:

- Community-based initiatives. - Psychosocial support. - Educational activities. - Livelihood recovery. - Reconciliation. - Direct support to affected communities. The category highlights efforts that help communities withstand crisis conditions and rebuild their ability to live with dignity and resilience. Humanitarian Response Award The Humanitarian Response Award is an honorary, non-monetary award. It recognizes humanitarian leadership and exceptional responses to crisis situations. The award highlights individuals or organizations whose humanitarian leadership contributes to protecting affected populations and responding to severe humanitarian challenges. How Much Is the Prize? Three award categories carry monetary prizes. - Award for the Protection of Human Rights in Armed Conflict: CHF 1,000. - Award for Documentation, Justice and Accountability: CHF 1,000. - Award for Human Dignity and Resilience in Conflict-Affected Communities: CHF 1,000.

- Humanitarian Response Award: Honorary and non-monetary.

The CHF 1,000 prize is approximately $1,100 USD. Additional Benefits for Award Recipients Beyond the monetary prize, recipients can benefit from increased visibility through the Geneva Centre’s platforms and networks. Awardees also have opportunities to connect with other human rights advocates. These opportunities can help recognized individuals and organizations increase awareness of their work and strengthen connections within the wider human rights community. Who Can Be Nominated? The awards are open to a broad range of individuals and organizations whose work contributes to protecting and defending human rights.

Eligible nominees include:

- Individuals. - NGOs. - Organizations. - Networks. - Communities. Nominees can be working in any country. What Work Can Be Recognized? The awards recognize a wide range of human rights and humanitarian activities.

Examples include:

- Human rights advocacy. - Legal assistance. - Community-based initiatives. - Human rights monitoring. - Prevention activities. - Direct support to affected populations. - Evidence collection. - Legal advocacy. - Victim representation. - Psychosocial support. - Educational activities. - Livelihood recovery. - Reconciliation. - Humanitarian leadership. The common focus is on meaningful action that protects human dignity, supports affected people, or strengthens human rights in crisis settings. Who Can Submit a Nomination? Nominations can be submitted by any individual or organization. Self-nominations are also permitted. This means that an individual or organization does not necessarily need to be nominated by an external institution to be considered for recognition. Geographic Eligibility Nominations are open to work from all countries. The awards are therefore international in scope and can recognize human rights and humani