Nobel laureate the Dalai Lama has been nominated for the EU's Sakharov Human Rights Award. The Tibetan spiritual leader will compete with seven other nominees which include the famous human right activist Ingrid Betancourt from Columbia. The nominations will officially be presented to a joint meeting of the EU parliament's Foreign Affairs committee on Tuesday.

 

The current, 14th Dalai Lama who is in exile in India has an impeccable record in human rights; he seeks greater autonomy for Tibet through non-violence. As of now his name is among eight names that have been nominated. In second phase there would be short listing of three names, and out of three names a winner will be selected in the month of October. The award will be bestowed on Dec 17.

 

The award is named after famous Russian human right activist Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov. He was a great advocate of civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union, and was awarded with Nobel Prize in the year 1975. The European Parliament started the award to respect his legacy in the human rights. The winner of the award gets EUR 50 000.