The head of the Ukrainian human rights organization "Almenda" Maria Sulyalina received the Civil Rights Defender of The Year 2024 award in Sweden.
This was reported on the website of the award.
"Almenda" was founded by a group of human rights defenders in Yalta in 2011. The idea of the organization was to increase education about the culture of democracy, the culture of peace, human rights and media literacy among educators and young people of Crimea and Ukraine.
Due to Russiaʼs invasion of Crimea in 2014, "Almenda" left the peninsula. Sulyaninia, who worked in the organization since 2013, was 18 years old at the time of the occupation, and had to leave her native city of Yalta.
From 2014 to 2022, the organization focused on helping young people from the occupied territories transfer to study in the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine and integrate into society.
As the full-scale invasion begins, Almenda records and documents war crimes against children. In particular, he collects photos and videos and conducts interviews with teachers and parents.
"Children in the occupied territories are often invisible. They cannot speak for themselves as it is dangerous and could lead to prosecution and they are not very protected. The younger they are, the more influence propaganda has on them. Children are our future, and it is our duty to protect them from militarization and indoctrination, and to ensure that reintegration processes take their needs into account," said Sulyalina.
- The Civil Rights Defender of The Year Award is an award for outstanding activity in the defense of civil and political rights. It is awarded annually by the Civil Rights Defenders organization.
- This award honors outstanding human rights defenders who, despite the risk to their own safety, continue to fight for civil and political rights. The prize has been awarded since 2013, in particular, it was received by human rights defenders from Venezuela, Turkey and Burma.