2019 Human Rights Award Ceremony
On the occasion of this year's 13th Human Rights Award Ceremony and the 10th Peace Table, this video clip was created to capture the impressions of this sunny September 22, 2019.
A cooperation of: Bid Office Capital of Culture 2025, KuF - Office for Culture and Leisure, Human Rights Office and Women's Representative, Nuremberg State Theatre
Video production: Miller Films
Rodrigo Mundaca from Chile was awarded the International Nuremberg Human Rights Prize on Sunday, September 22, 2019. With this award, the City of Nuremberg honors the 58-year-old agricultural engineer, a tireless fighter for the human right to free access to clean water, who is under threat in his home country.
The 13th award ceremony took place in the Opera House of the Nuremberg State Theater in front of around 900 guests. The certificate was presented to the award winner by mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly and Anne Brasseur, member of the jury and former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who also gave the laudatory speech for Rodrigo Mundaca.
Welcome by mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly
"Water is the basis of life. We are all made of water to no small extent," said mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly at the opening of the ceremony, which was moderated by TV journalist Katty Salié and accompanied by the Nuremberg State Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of music director Joana Mallwitz. "Water is food," continued the head of the city. "While we turn on the tap here in Nuremberg, it makes others ill. Access to clean drinking water must be a universal human right. Where this human right does not exist, injustice arises."
Greetings from former Federal President Joachim Gauck
In his welcoming address, former German President Joachim Gauck praised Nuremberg as a city that welcomes foreigners and minorities and where people have been working to protect human rights for decades. "Every two years, you pay tribute to people who stand up for themselves, far beyond their own existence." These people stand up for human rights despite fears and persecution. "We need these special role models who show others what they are capable of."
Nuremberg's mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly (left) and jury member Anne Brasseur (right) hand over the International Nuremberg Human Rights Award to Rodrigo Mundaca (center) on 22 September 2019 at the Nuremberg Opera House.
Laudation by jury member Anne Brasseur
Laudator Anne Brasseur referred to the right to water, which was recognized as a human right by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, and in particular denounced the irresponsible use of this vital staple food by avocado producers in Mundaca's home region of Petorca. "Overuse of water resources has turned an entire region into a desert landscape and thousands of farmers have lost their livelihoods." Brasseur also addressed the irresponsible use of water resources in one of the driest regions in Europe in her laudatory speech: "Almeria in Spain is home to the so-called vegetable garden of Europe, where most of the vegetables we eat are grown under plastic tarpaulins with lots of water despite the lack of water." She addressed the award winner with the words: "Through your tireless efforts, Mr. Mundaca, you and your fellow campaigners are not only fighting for a basic human right in your country, but it is also an appeal to us all to treat the precious resource of water differently and more carefully." She also underlined: "The International Nuremberg Human Rights Award to you, Mr. Mundaca, should also help to ensure that enforceable decisions are finally made at the UN Climate Change Conference, which will take place in your home country in two months' time, forcing us to act together."
Moving words from the award winner Rodrigo Mundaca
Rodrigo Mundaca dedicated his prize to murdered and arrested citizens of Chile and said in his speech: "It is an unexpected award. We have said time and time again that we do not want to be honored - we are just part of a people who are tired of being deprived of water. We want to stand up for the most important food in the world: water." Water rights in Chile have been in private hands for 39 years. "We now have a market for water," underlined the prizewinner. 90 percent of Chile's arable land is used to grow avocados, a tropical fruit that requires a lot of water and for which water is drawn from a depth of 100 meters. "The children who are born here no longer know any rivers," explained Mundaca. 50 liters of water per week are brought to the people in the countryside in tankers. And: "Intensive farming is still carried out for the supermarkets in Europe and China." At the end of his speech, the Human Rights Award winner appealed to the audience: "We need international solidarity!"