This press release is also available in Arabic (العربية), Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan dili), and Brazilian Portuguese (Português).
PRESS RELEASE
DATE: July 24, 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Audrey Baker, (510) 550-8173/ [email protected], Abby Blinch, (604) 822-4172/ [email protected]
2017 finalists announced for C$100,000 Allard Prize for International Integrity
Honorees include Brazilian prosecution task force, Azerbaijani journalist, Egyptian human rights lawyer
July 24, 2017 – Worldwide – The Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada has announced the three finalists for the 2017 Allard Prize for International Integrity. Created and funded by alumnus Mr. Peter A. Allard, Q.C., the C$100,000 biennial prize is one of the largest awards in the world recognizing efforts to combat corruption and promote human rights.
“Each of the 2017 Allard Prize finalists has demonstrated remarkable courage and leadership, taking significant risks not only for themselves but also for their families and friends, and making considerable personal sacrifices, to uphold transparency, accountability and the Rule of Law,” said Peter Allard. “We are honored to recognize their exceptional work in fighting corruption and protecting human rights, in the hope that doing so will inspire others to also fight abuses of power and the subversion of human rights.”
The winner of the Allard Prize will be announced at a special ceremony at the University of British Columbia’s Old Auditorium on September 28, 2017 at 6:30 pm. Click here to get tickets.
The 2017 Allard Prize finalists are:
Car Wash Task Force (Força Tarefa da Lava Jato) – This Brazilian anti-corruption prosecution task force has worked to prosecute some of the most powerful Brazilian economic and political elites. “Operation Car Wash” began as a local money laundering investigation and grew into the largest probe to date uncovering cases of state capture and grand corruption in Brazil. Its investigations have resulted in over 280 persons charged, 157 convictions, 1,563 years of cumulative jail time and restitution agreements of over US$3 billion. The Task Force’s work has led to the most significant anti-corruption bill in Brazil’s history, supported by over 2 million Brazilian citizens, and underscores the message that everyone is equal under the law and even the most powerful leaders will be held accountable.
Photo Credit: Marco Zaoboni
Khadija Ismayilova — As an investigative journalist in Azerbaijan, Khadija Ismayilova writes about high-level corruption and misuse of power in Azerbaijan for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Radio Free Europe’s Azerbaijani service. In 2010, Ismayilova exposed hidden offshore assets held by Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, and his family including tens of millions of dollars in real estate holdings registered to his son, 2.5 billion dollars worth of gold and silver at Azerbaijan’s Chovdar mine, and various business interests in communications, banking, construction, and transportation. In 2013, Ismayilova received private video footage of herself in her home from an anonymous source, with a note warning her to behave. She was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison on charges that many saw as retaliation for her reports. In 2016, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan released Ismayilova on probation but forbade her to travel abroad for five years without official permission.
Photo credit: Aziz Karimov
Azza Soliman – A renowned women’s rights lawyer, Azza Soliman is the co-founder of the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA). She has dedicated her life to fighting corruption and injustice faced by Egyptian women in both the private sphere and the judicial system. She started her activism in 1995 when she was arrested after exposing the torture imposed on female members of the Islamic Group. Soliman has worked to support women’s access to justice by using progressive interpretations of religion to influence legislation and combat the monopoly and corruption of religious institutions. In 2015, Soliman was unjustly charged with unauthorized protest and public order violations after testifying against a policeman who she witnessed killing a female human rights defender during a protest. In response, she founded the “Protecting Witnesses and Whistleblowers Coalition” to help enhance the Rule of Law. Currently, the Egyptian government has curtailed Soliman’s freedom by freezing her law firm’s and her own private assets and banning her from traveling outside Egypt.
“These finalists have been selected from a diverse and fascinating pool of nominations,” said Catherine Dauvergne, Dean of the Allard School of Law. “Peter Allard’s commitment to shedding light on the work of advocates worldwide who are fighting corruption and promoting human rights is a crucial step to helping real change happen in the world.”
The keynote speaker will be American journalist and author Glenn Greenwald, who broke the story of U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden to the world and co-founded the award-winning news outlet, The Intercept. The Intercept covers national security, politics, criminal justice and more, and gives its journalists the editorial freedom and legal support they need to pursue investigations that expose corruption and injustice.
Photo credit: Jimmy Chalk
The Allard Prize for International Integrity was first awarded in 2013 to Anna Hazare for his work in leading successful movements across India to enhance government transparency and investigate and prosecute official corruption. The 2015 Prize went to John Githongo and Rafael Marques de Morais, two African journalists who exposed corruption in their respective countries of Kenya and Angola.
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About the Allard Prize for International Integrity
Established in October 2012 and funded by alumnus Mr. Peter A. Allard, Q.C., the Allard Prize for International Integrity is awarded biennially to an individual, movement or organization that has shown exceptional courage and leadership in combating corruption and promoting human rights, especially through promoting transparency, accountability and the Rule of Law. After a comprehensive nomination and selection process, this year’s three finalists were selected from 244 nominations from 70 countries around the world.
The Allard Prize is administered by the Peter A. Allard School of Law and steered by the Allard Prize Committee, composed of representatives of both the Allard School of Law and the private sector, in consultation with the Allard Prize Advisory Board, composed of members of the anti-corruption and human rights communities worldwide. Learn more: www.allardprize.org.
The Allard Prize Committee
The Allard Prize Foundation:
- Robert W. King, Principal, Westbridge Capital Group
- Geoff Lyster, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
- Richard Olson, Lawyer, McKechnie & Company
Peter A. Allard School of Law:
- Nicole Barrett, Executive Director, Allard Prize Initiatives and Director, International Justice and Human Rights Clinic, Allard School of Law
- Mary Anne Bobinski, Professor, Allard School of Law
- Maira Hassan, Graduate Student, Allard School of Law
The Allard Prize Advisory Board
Dr. Marianne I. Camerer, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Programme Director, Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice
University of Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
Dr. Mark S. Ellis, B.S., J.D., Ph.D.
Executive Director
International Bar Association
London, England
Mr. James M. Klotz, LL.B.
Partner
Miller Thomson LLP
Toronto, Canada
Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman, B.A., Ph.D.
Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence Law and Political Science
Yale University
New Haven, CT, United States of America
Clare Wee, Esq.
Head, Office of Anticorruption and Integrity
Asian Development Bank
Manila, Philippines
Stephen Zimmermann, Esq.
Director of Operations, Integrity Vice Presidency
The World Bank
Washington, D.C., United States of America
Allard Prize Photography Competition
The Allard Prize Committee also oversees the semi-annual Allard Prize Photography Competition, which recognizes photographic excellence reflecting the ideals of the Allard Prize. Each winning entrant receives a C$1,000 cash prize and is featured on the Allard Prize website for six months. Up to six photographs are selected every six months. Learn more.
Peter A. Allard, Q.C.
The Allard Prize for International Integrity was created by Mr. Peter A. Allard, Q.C., as part of his 2011 gift of $11.86 million to the law school. This gift also supported the creation of the Faculty’s new home, Allard Hall. On January 22, 2015, UBC announced an additional transformational $30 million gift from Mr. Allard. Mr. Allard’s gift is the largest ever to a Canadian law school. In recognition of this gift, which enables the Faculty to build on its reputation for championing human rights, the university named the law school the Peter A. Allard School of Law.
Throughout his career as a lawyer and businessman, Mr. Allard has assumed leadership roles in human rights, environmental advocacy and other philanthropic work. Mr. Allard graduated from UBC with a B.A. in History in 1968, and a LL.B. in 1971. After graduation, Mr. Allard practiced law and participated in various business enterprises. In 1993, he established the Highbury Foundation, which has assisted medical communities in B.C. and Alberta with support for research and the purchase of medical equipment. The Highbury Foundation has also made significant donations to colleges and universities across Western Canada for scholarships and building needs.
Peter A. Allard School of Law
The Peter A. Allard School of Law is committed to being one of the world’s great centers for legal education and research. As part of an outstanding public university situated in one of the most open, diverse and beautiful places in the world, the Allard School of Law offers an inspiring environment that combines rigorous professional legal training with an awareness of the role of law in society. Its faculty engages in research with national and global reach and provides students with some of the most extensive and innovative curricular opportunities of any Canadian law school. The law school offers strengths in many fields, including business law, human rights law, Asian legal studies, feminist legal studies and Indigenous legal issues. Graduates have gone on to leadership positions in a broad range of spheres, from the legal profession, to government, public interest organizations, business and academia. Learn more.
This press release is also available in Arabic (العربية), Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan dili), and Brazilian Portuguese (Português).