On December 10, International Human Rights Day, Ambassador Stephen King presented U.S. Embassy Prague’s annual Alice G. Masaryk Human Rights Award to Veronika Jezkova, the legal director of proFem and managing director of Pro bono alliance. The Ambassador recognized Ms. Jezkova for her tireless advocacy to eliminate violence against women and commitment to ensuring equal access to justice on the recommendation of the Embassy’s Human Rights Award committee.
The Embassy established the annual Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award in 2004 to recognize people and institutions in the Czech Republic for significant accomplishments in the field of human rights. The award’s namesake, Alice Garrigue Masaryk, was a prominent Czech-American humanitarian and founder of the Czechoslovak Red Cross. The award serves as a tribute to her devotion to combating social injustice and her personal courage as displayed in her advocacy for human rights.
Ms. Jezkova joins the ranks of previous award winners, which include Šimon Pánek, Anna Šabatová, David Ondráčka, Czeslaw Walek, Čeněk Růžička, Marie Gottfriedová, Klára Kalibová, Oldřich Kužílek, ROMEA organization, Igor Blaževič, Lucie Sládková, Kumar Sri Vishwanathan, Jiří Kopal, and Czech print weekly Respekt.
