Environmental defender wins Per Anger Prize

Anabela Lemos, an environmental defender from Mozambique, has been awarded this year's Per Anger Prize, the Swedish government's international award for human rights and democracy. Lemos receives the prize for her fight for the farmers forced to leave their homes to give room for gas exploration and coal mining. The prize will be presented by the Minister for Culture Jeanette Gustafsdotter on March 31.

For over 20 years, Prize winner Anabela Lemos has been fighting for climate justice in Mozambique. Despite receiving threats, she continues to take a stand against multinational companies that exploit the land of small-scale farmers and force them from their land.

– The farmers have no rights, nor the opportunity to say “no, not on my land”. Human rights as well as the condition of the environment and the climate have worsened during the last few years. This is what we are fighting against, says Anabela Lemos.

For a long time, Lemos has been a strong voice for people living in poverty and having lost the right to housing and livelihood. She heads the environmental group Justiça Ambiental (Friends of the Earth Mozambique) and is a driving force in the protests against the extraction of natural gas in Cabo Delgado in Northern Mozambique, a region where the majority of the population lives in extreme poverty.

The prizewinner has also raised global awareness around several other climate-destroying projects. Her efforts have slowed down many processes and contributed to holding the responsible companies accountable. Throughout the years, her work has meant increased legal protection for people who have been exposed to exploitation of their land.

This is the first time the Per Anger Prize is awarded to an environmental defender.

– Anabela Lemos is engaged in a struggle against environmental injustices that affect vulnerable people. The fact that an environmental defender receives the prize shows that climate justice is also a question of human rights. They are connected and they are one of the big challenges of our time, says Caroline Källner, acting Superintendent of the Living History Forum.

The Per Anger Prize is the Swedish government's international prize for human rights and democracy. The prize was established in 2004 to draw attention to diplomat Per Anger’s great work during the Second World War, when he saved Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. The Living History Forum has been commissioned by the Swedish government to award the annual prize.

The Per Anger Prize is awarded to Anabela Lemos at a ceremony in Stockholm on March 31. The prizewinner is available for interviews on March 28–30. For booking of interviews please contact the press officers of the Living History Forum at +46 702 59 38 19 or press@levandehistoria.se. For more information also visit www.levandehistoria.se/node/63...

Facts
Despite its low levels of carbon dioxide emissions, Mozambique is counted among the nations most exposed to the climate crisis. Rising temperatures, droughts, and extreme weather are ever-increasing threats to a population already battling high poverty levels. Exploitation of the country’s natural resources is yet another imminent threat to already exposed societies.

Environmental defenders around the world are on the receiving end of repeated threats. According to the organization Global Witness, over 200 activists were murdered in 2020. (link)

The jury's motivation
“For more than 20 years, Anabela Lemos has fought for climate justice in Mozambique. Despite receiving threats, she pursues her fight against multinational companies that destroy and exploit the land of small-scale farmers and force them from their homes. The efforts of Anabela Lemos clearly show that human rights and climate justice are tightly linked.”

Nine international organisations participated in the nomination work for this year’s Per Anger Prize: Afrikagrupperna, Amnesty International, Civil Rights Defenders, Diakonia, IM Swedish Development Partner, Kvinna till kvinna, Save the Children, Act Church of Sweden, and We Effect.

This year's Prize winner was nominated by the organisation We Effect.