Ruben Vardanyan nominated for the 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

A group of prominent human rights defenders from around the world has nominated Ruben Vardanyan, former State Minister of Artsakh, for the 2026 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize. Below is the text of their published statement.

“May 18, 2026. Announcement of the nomination of Ruben Vardanyan for the 2026 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.

We, the undersigned human rights defenders from across the world, announce that we have nominated Ruben Vardanyan, Armenian humanitarian figure, for the 2026 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.
In doing so, we recognize Ruben’s significant contribution to the protection of human rights worldwide through the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, as well as his commitment to defending the rights of his compatriots in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). We firmly believe that Ruben Vardanyan is deserving of this award.

The Aurora Prize, founded by Ruben Vardanyan, Noubar Afeyan, and Vartan Gregorian, has inspired its laureates to continue their vital work in the field of human rights, saving the lives of thousands of people across different countries and continents. Ruben believes that goodness is eternal and immortal, and that its power grows with every new act of kindness. Through Ruben’s convictions and support, many people who found themselves in difficult life circumstances were given a chance to have their rights protected and, with that, a second chance at a better life.

The protection of human rights and dignity is, for Ruben, of paramount importance. It was this conviction that drove his decision to stand side by side with his compatriots and, in their most difficult hour, to move to Nagorno-Karabakh. That decision resonated deeply in our hearts. In Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben served as a protector of the indigenous population.

A pacifist by nature and conviction, Ruben placed his own safety and comfortable future at risk in order to pursue the path of dialogue, negotiation, and the search for mutual understanding in a region gripped by one of the most complex and acute conflicts in the world.

At the opening of the new building of the European Court of Human Rights in 1995, Vaclav Havel expressed his hope that “human reason, integrity, solidarity, and the willingness for mutual understanding and just coexistence would prevail over all that threatens them.” Ruben embodies and follows the same ideology and the same enduring values. It is for this reason that we assert that his exceptional work is entirely in keeping with the spirit of this prize and the principles that Vaclav Havel stood for.

By a cruel twist of fate, Ruben Vardanyan, humanitarian figure and human rights defender, today stands in need of the very protection he has provided to others for decades. An Azerbaijani military court sentenced him to 20 years in prison on fabricated charges, and Ruben is currently held at Baku Prison together with other prominent figures from Nagorno-Karabakh.

We believe that awarding Ruben Vardanyan the 2026 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize would be a fitting recognition of his exceptional efforts and an important step toward securing his release and that of other Armenian prisoners in Baku.”

Nominating group:

Vahan Zanoyan, writer, anti-trafficking advocate, and global energy consultant

Marguerite Barankitse, Burundian human rights defender and founder of Maison Shalom

Tom Catena, American physician and humanitarian, founder of the Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan

Julienne Lusenge, Congolese human rights defender, co-founder of the Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development (SOFEPADI), and director of the Congolese Women’s Fund

Mirza Dinnayi, Yazidi activist and human rights defender, co-founder and director of Luftbrücke Irak (Airbridge Iraq)

The Vaclav Havel Prize, named after the legendary Czech figure, the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic, playwright, essayist, and human rights defender, is awarded annually by PACE in cooperation with the Czech government, the Vaclav Havel Library, and the Charta 77 Foundation.

The prize was established in 2013 and is awarded for outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations in the field of human rights. Under the prize’s statute, the name of the laureate is announced each year in September at the PACE session in Strasbourg.