Tamil Nadu Based NGO is Awarded the Prestigious Human Rights Prize of the French Republic

A Tiruvannamalai-based NGO People Organisation for Planning and Education (POPE) was awarded the French Government’s prestigious human rights prize for 2021. During a virtual ceremony held from Paris, Lise Talbot-Barré, French Consul General in Puducherry, handed the prize to R.L. Rosario, POPE president at the Consulate.

What is the Human Rights Prize of the French Republic?

The Human Rights Prize of the French Republic 2021, “Liberté – Égalité – Fraternité”, is awarded by the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights of the French Republic (CNCDH). This award is designed to recognise field actions and projects, whether individual or collective, that contribute to the effective protection and advancement of human rights. On December 10th of each year, on the occasion of the United Nations’ International Human Rights Day, this prize is presented in Paris, or if that is not possible, in the winner’s home country.

The goal of this award is to recognise civil society’s critical role in the promotion and protection of human rights around the world, by honouring fieldwork and projects that contribute to the effective protection and promotion of rights in accordance with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Human Rights Prize of the French Republic 2021

The Tiruvannamalai-based NGO was named one of the five laureates for 2021, out of 260 applicants. The application of the NGO was chosen for one of the year’s two themes: “Education, a Common Good, a Fundamental Right.” Ms Talbot-Barre, who presented the award, said the NGO had been improving the lives of marginalised populations in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with over 100 volunteers. She emphasised the importance of education as a tool for empowerment, noting that POPE had been holding evening classes and providing professional education to children, men, and women, as well as holding community rights awareness programmes.

People Organisation for Planning and Education (POPE)

POPE is a non-profit organisation based in Tiruvannamalai that works to improve the well-being and rights of underprivileged people, particularly Dalits and tribals. In Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the organisation focuses on the education of marginalised children, women, and men. The organisation has developed a community-university and performed training programmes and academic development sessions for youngsters as part of this endeavour.

The consulate has remarked that “through the Human Rights Prize to the NGO, France, represented by the Consulate General of France in Puducherry, wishes to salute its commitment to education in the world and its contribution to the principle of Equality, which, along with Liberty, Fraternity and Justice, constitute the common values of France and India and the heart of the strategic partnership that unites these two countries”.