SHIRIN EBADI Iran   Oslo, 10 October 2003   The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003 to Shirin Ebadi for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.   As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, and far beyond its borders. She has stood up as a sound professional, a courageous person, and has never heeded the threats to her own safety.   Her principal arena is the struggle for basic human rights, and no society deserves to be labelled civilized unless the rights of women and children are respected. In an era of violence, she has consistently supported non-violence. It is fundamental to her view that the supreme political power in a community must be built on democratic elections. She favours enlightenment and dialogue as the best path to changing attitudes and resolving conflict.   Ebadi is a conscious Moslem. She sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights. It is important to her that the dialogue between the different cultures and religions of the world should take as its point of departure their shared values. It is a pleasure for the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize to a woman who is part of the Moslem world, and of whom that world can be proud - along with all who fight for human rights wherever they live.   During recent decades, democracy and human rights have advanced in various parts of the world. By its awards of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has attempted to speed up this process.   We hope that the people of Iran will feel joyous that for the first time in history one of their citizens has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and we hope the Prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for human rights and democracy in her country, in the Moslem world, and in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration and support.   Oslo, Norway. December 10, 2003.   The Nobel Lecture given by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003, Shirin Ebadi.   I feel extremely honoured that today my voice is reaching the people of the world from this distinguished venue. This great honour has been bestowed upon me by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. I salute the spirit of Alfred Nobel and hail all true followers of his path.   This year, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a woman from Iran, a Muslim country in the Middle East.   Undoubtedly, my selection will be an inspiration to the masses of women who are striving to realize their rights, not only in Iran but throughout the region - rights taken away from them through the passage of history. This selection will make women in Iran, and much further afield, believe in themselves. Women constitute half of the population of every country. To disregard women and bar them from active participation in political, social, economic and cultural life would in fact be tantamount to depriving the entire population of every society of half its capability. The patriarchal culture and the discrimination against women, particularly in the Islamic countries, cannot continue for ever.   As you are aware, the honour and blessing of this prize will have a positive and far-reaching impact on the humanitarian and genuine endeavours of the people of Iran and the region. The magnitude of this blessing will embrace every freedom-loving and peace-seeking individual, whether they are women or men.   I thank the Norwegian Nobel Committee for this honour that has been bestowed upon me and for the blessing of this honour for the peace-loving people of my country.   Today coincides with the 55th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; a declaration which begins with the recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family, as the guarantor of freedom, justice and peace. And it promises a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of expression and opinion, and be safeguarded and protected against fear and poverty.   Unfortunately, however, this year's report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as in the previous years, spells out the rise of a disaster which distances mankind from the idealistic world of the authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2002, almost 1.2 billion human beings lived in glaring poverty, earning less than one dollar a day. Over 50 countries were caught up in war or natural disasters. AIDS has so far claimed the lives of 22 million individuals, and turned 13 million children into orphans.   At the same time, in the past two years, some states have violated the universal principles and laws of human rights by using the events of 11 September and the war on international terrorism as a pretext. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 57/219, of 18 December 2002, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1456, of 20 January 2003, and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2003/68, of 25 April 2003, set out and underline that all states must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism must comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights and humanitarian law. However, regulations restricting human rights and basic freedoms, special bodies and extraordinary courts, which make fair adjudication difficult and at times impossible, have been justified and given legitimacy under the cloak of the war on terrorism.   The concerns of human rights' advocates increase when they observe that international human rights laws are breached not only by their recognized opponents under the pretext of cultural relativity, but that these principles are also violated in Western democracies, in other words countries which were themselves among the initial codifiers of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is in this framework that, for months, hundreds of individuals who were arrested in the course of military conflicts have been imprisoned in Guantanamo, without the benefit of the rights stipulated under the international Geneva conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the [United Nations] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.   Moreover, a question which millions of citizens in the international civil society have been asking themselves for the past few years, particularly in recent months, and continue to ask, is this: why is it that some decisions and resolutions of the UN Security Council are binding, while some other resolutions of the council have no binding force? Why is it that in the past 35 years, dozens of UN resolutions concerning the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the state of Israel have not been implemented promptly, yet, in the past 12 years, the state and people of Iraq, once on the recommendation of the Security Council, and the second time, in spite of UN Security Council opposition, were subjected to attack, military assault, economic sanctions, and, ultimately, military occupation?   Allow me to say a little about my country, region, culture and faith. I am an Iranian. A descendent of Cyrus The Great. The very emperor who proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2500 years ago that “... he would not reign over the people if they did not wish it. And [he] promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all”. The Charter of Cyrus The Great is one of the most important documents that should be studied in the history of human rights.   I am a Muslim. In the Koran the Prophet of Islam has been cited as saying: “Thou shalt believe in thine faith and I in my religion”. That same divine book sees the mission of all prophets as that of inviting all human beings to uphold justice. Since the advent of Islam, too, Iran's civilization and culture has become imbued and infused with humanitarianism, respect for the life, belief and faith of others, propagation of tolerance and compromise and avoidance of violence, bloodshed and war. The luminaries of Iranian literature, in particular our Gnostic literature, from Hafiz, Mowlavi [better known in the West as Rumi] and Attar to Saadi, Sanaei, Naser Khosrow and Nezami, are emissaries of this humanitarian culture. Their message manifests itself in this poem by Saadi:   The sons of Adam are limbs of one another Having been created of one essence. When the calamity of time afflicts one limb The other limbs cannot remain at rest.   The people of Iran have been battling against consecutive conflicts between tradition and modernity for over 100 years. By resorting to ancient traditions, some have tried and are trying to see the world through the eyes of their predecessors and to deal with the problems and difficulties of the existing world by virtue of the values of the ancients. But, many others, while respecting their historical and cultural past and their religion and faith, seek to go forth in step with world developments and not lag behind the caravan of civilization, development and progress. The people of Iran, particularly in the recent years, have shown that they deem participation in public affairs to be their right, and that they want to be masters of their own destiny.   This conflict is observed not merely in Iran, but also in many Muslim states. Some Muslims, under the pretext that democracy and human rights are not compatible with Islamic teachings and the traditional structure of Islamic societies, have justified despotic governments, and continue to do so. In fact, it is not so easy to rule over a people who are aware of their rights, using traditional, patriarchal and paternalistic methods.   Islam is a religion whose first sermon to the Prophet begins with the word “Recite!” The Koran swears by the pen and what it writes. Such a sermon and message cannot be in conflict with awareness, knowledge, wisdom, freedom of opinion and expression and cultural pluralism.   The discriminatory plight of women in Islamic states, too, whether in the sphere of civil law or in the realm of social, political and cultural justice, has its roots in the patriarchal and male-dominated culture prevailing in these societies, not in Islam. This culture does not tolerate freedom and democracy, just as it does not believe in the equal rights of men and women, and the liberation of women from male domination (fathers, husbands, brothers ...), because it would threaten the historical and traditional position of the rulers and guardians of that culture.   One has to say to those who have mooted the idea of a clash of civilizations, or prescribed war and military intervention for this region, and resorted to social, cultural, economic and political sluggishness of the South in a bid to justify their actions and opinions, that if you consider international human rights laws, including the nations' right to determine their own destinies, to be universal, and if you believe in the priority and superiority of parliamentary democracy over other political systems, then you cannot think only of your own security and comfort, selfishly and contemptuously. A quest for new means and ideas to enable the countries of the South, too, to enjoy human rights and democracy, while maintaining their political independence and territorial integrity of their respective countries, must be given top priority by the United Nations in respect of future developments and international relations.   The decision by the Nobel Peace Committee to award the 2003 prize to me, as the first Iranian and the first woman from a Muslim country, inspires me and millions of Iranians and nationals of Islamic states with the hope that our efforts, endeavours and struggles toward the realization of human rights and the establishment of democracy in our respective countries enjoy the support, backing and solidarity of international civil society. This prize belongs to the people of Iran. It belongs to the people of the Islamic states, and the people of the South for establishing human rights and democracy.   In the introduction to my speech, I spoke of human rights as a guarantor of freedom, justice and peace. If human rights fail to be manifested in codified laws or put into effect by states, then, as rendered in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human beings will be left with no choice other than staging a “rebellion against tyranny and oppression”. A human being divested of all dignity, a human being deprived of human rights, a human being gripped by starvation, a human being beaten by famine, war and illness, a humiliated human being and a plundered human being is not in any position or state to recover the rights he or she has lost.   If the 21st century wishes to free itself from the cycle of violence, acts of terror and war, and avoid repetition of the experience of the 20th century - that most disaster-ridden century of humankind, there is no other way except by understanding and putting into practice every human right for all mankind, irrespective of race, gender, faith, nationality or social status. In anticipation of that day. With much gratitude, Shirin Ebadi.   Copyright © 2003, The Nobel Foundation   12th October, 2003 ( Published by ABC News Online).   Nobel winner demands Islamic punishments cease.   Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has called for an end to Islamic punishments in her country and their replacement by modern penalties "as in all democratic countries".   "Stoning, (and) the amputation of limbs must be abolished," she told the French newspaper Le Monde in response to a question about what reforms she would like to see introduced in Iran.   Ms Ebadi, 56, a human rights lawyer, is the first Muslim woman to be awarded a Nobel peace prize and the first Iranian to receive any Nobel award. She is due to return to Tehran, where her award has aroused a mixed reaction, on Tuesday, according to a human rights organisation in Paris, where she is staying at present and giving a round of interviews.   She told Le Monde that the Iranian Islamic Republic could not continue if it did not evolve and called for a change to the electoral law.   "The most important thing now is that the Government proposal for change to the law on elections be adopted. Let people be able to elect freely their representatives in Parliament."   If the proposals were blocked by the (conservative) Revolutionary Guards' Council "the Iranian people will boycott the elections due to take place in March, as they did last year with municipal elections".   Ms Ebadi said she supported the separation of the state and religion.   "The position I take is not against Islam. There are grand ayatollahs who want the separation of the state and religion."   As for the absence of democracy in Islamic countries, she said: "It is not the fault of Islam but of corrupt regimes in all Muslim countries which unfortunately use this pretext to justify their illegitimate government."   But she opposed the use of violence to change the type of government in Iran as well as any outside intervention.   10th October, 2003. ( Published by the International Herald Tribune).   TEHRAN The news that the Nobel Peace Prize was being awarded to Shirin Ebadi received no official applause in Iran, suggesting the regime's bewilderment at the victory of one of its own critics.   But new of the prize, announced by Persian language radio stations, brought tears to the eyes of many ordinary Iranians and intelligentsia, including lawyers, journalists and political activists. Ebadi had become a symbol of courage and persistence in a country where most independent activists have been forced into exile or into silence.   "The fact is that the prize given to Shirin is like a prize to all the Iranian people, who should be separated from their government," said Shahla Lahiji, a close friend of Ebadi and the publisher of several of her books. "It shows that the perception that Iran is a forgotten and condemned country is wrong," Lahiji said.   Ebadi's husband, Javad Tavassolian, and her mother, who heard the news in Tehran, said only that they were "extremely happy." Not many expected hard-line politicians, who have been at the center of accusations of human rights violations, to express joy over Ebadi's prize. Ebadi was jailed in the summer of 2000 for a month by the hard-line Judiciary after she revealed a confession tape by a former member of a vigilante force about the role of high-ranking officials leading the group.   Ebadi was not affiliated with any political group. The fact that she focused on women's and children's rights, and defended political prisoners who were not related to the mainstream political parties, kept her distant from the reformist parties. Hard-liners considered her a thorn in their side.   Reformist politicians did not mention the news of her nomination in their newspapers at all but drummed up the news of the nomination of a reformist leader, Hashemi Aghajari, for the prize.   Vice President Ali Abatahi said that he was proud that an Iranian had been awarded the prize. He also said that the prize shows the active role Iranian women have in social and political scenes, adding that this was only his personal reaction.   The first formal reaction came from some 30 reformist politicians who prepared a letter for the Saturday paper saying they felt that Ebadi deserved the prize and that they were proud of her.   Yet, analysts in Tehran said that they hoped that the victory would help lift the efforts of pro-reform politicians.   "Ms. Ebadi was an icon for defending the weakest in society but she always adopted lawful and peaceful means," said Alireza Alavitabar, a political scientist and reformist politician in Tehran. "We hope the fact that the International community has come to respect such a method would help solidify all those groups that favor such policies." Last year Ebadi founded the Association for Advocates of Human Rights along with four other lawyers, two of whom are jailed, to defend those who were charged with political crimes. Ebadi's most prominent case was that of Mohsen Sazgara, accused of being involved in the 10 days of demonstrations in June. Sazgara denied the accusations and went on a long hunger strike that landed him in a hospital last week. "Ms. Ebadi has become an international figure now and whatever she says has international credibility. We expect that confronting her and the cases she defends become difficult for the judiciary," Alavitabar said.   Ebadi: 'Our duty to work for human rights in Iran'   by 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner