It is the most prestigious award that the World Jurist Association presents, and it recognizes the work of Young being “a leader in the fight for civil rights and part of modern history for the United States and the world in the fight for human rights”.
- Andrew Young, the closest collaborator to Martin Luther King Jr., he was the first African American US ambassador for the UN, who also pushed for north American legislation for Civil Rights and the Right to Vote.
- This commendation will be awarded by His Majesty Felipe VI on the 8 May in Madrid during the presentation of the World Law Congress New York 2023 and the inauguration of the Rule of Law Digital Center.
- At the event, the WJA will also award The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medals of Honor to distinguished female jurists, such as Navi Pillay, High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights between (2008-2014), and Lady Brenda Hale, first female president of the UK Supreme Court.
On the 8 May, the World Jurist Association (WJA) will award to the distinguished leader of north American civil rights, Andrew Young, it’s most prestigious award: the World Peace and Liberty Award. It is recognition, as explained by the association, that seeks to highlight the international work of Young in favor of “social, political, and economic progress of the oppressed in the world”.
Born in the United States in 1932, Andrew Young is a politician, diplomat, and civil and human rights activist. He was Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest collaborator, and was at his side when he died https://youtu.be/LqIjO1Qqxcsc
Young took part in the writing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and the Right to Vote Act in 1965 in his country, and he was named executive vice president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1968-1970), following the death of King.
As Congressman from Georgia, he was the first African American U.S. ambassador for the UN. From there he promoted the protection of human rights and the economic progress in underdeveloped countries, his work made this a foreign policy objective of U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
He was mayor of Atlanta in 1982-1990, developing the city to become the venue for the Olympic Games.
In 1994, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and the U.S. Congress created the South African Enterprise Development Fund (SAEDF), chaired by Andrew Young. The Fund has the aim to supply finances to stimulate the creation and expansion of small and medium indigenous businesses in the whole of South Africa.
In 2003 the Andrew Young Foundation was founded, aimed to support and promote education, health, leadership, and human rights in the United States, Africa and the Caribbean.
“Young represents the values of the World Jurist Association because throughout his whole professional career he has been an example for humanity in his defense for the Rule of Law and, for this, we are proud to give him this award”, noted the president of the WJA, Javier Cremades.
The Nobel Prize in Law
The World Peace and Liberty Award is the most prestigious award that the World Jurist Association bestows, known as The Nobel Prize in Law. They award it to personalities and global institutions that have been marked for their commitment to the promotion of peace through the law and the Rule of Law as a guarantor of freedom.
In the past, this prize has been given to remarkable figures such as Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, René Cassin, Felipe VI King of Spain, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and most recently, the Colombian Society, received by their president, Iván Duque.
On this occasion, His Majesty Felipe VI King of Spain and the European Commissioner of Justice, Didier Reynders, will be the ones giving this award to Young.
Opening Session Madrid
The award ceremony of the World Peace and Liberty Award to Andrew Young will close the Opening Session Madrid that will serve to mark the presentation of the World Law Congress that will take place in New York the 20 and 21 July. Equally, they will inaugurate the Rule of Law Digital Center Madrid, the first center for the promotion of the Rule of Law launched by the World Law Foundation.
During the full program of the Opening Session Madrid, they will also award The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medals of Honor of the WJA 2023. The medals will be received by Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2017 – 2020 and the first woman to hold this position; Ambiga Sreenevasan, lawyer, Malaysian activist for free elections, for women’s rights and defender of human rights; Imrana Jalal, president of the Inspection Panel of the World Bank, specialized lawyer in human rights and founder of the gender equality movement in her native country Fiji; Asifa Kakar, Supreme Court Judge of Afghanistan, member of the Afghan Constitution Drafting Commission in 2003 on behalf of the International Association of Afghan Refugee Women Judges.
Furthermore, Navi Pillay, High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights between 2008 – 2014, International Criminal Court judge from 2003 – 2008, and president of the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, will receive in person her medal from 2021 that she accepted virtually due to the travel restrictions at that time.
