JERUSALEM - Palestinian MP and human rights activist Hanan Ashrawi won the annual Sydney Peace Prize on Friday, said a statement by the Sydney Peace Foundation.
"The Sydney Peace Foundation recognized Dr. Ashrawi for her commitment to human rights, to the peace process in the Middle East and for her courage in speaking against oppression, against corruption and for justice," read the statement.
Ashrawi served as the official spokeswoman of the Palestinian negotiating delegation between 1991 and 1993. After Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority was created, she was appointed minister of higher education from 1996 through 1998.
She founded the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) in 1998.
Ashrawi will receive her prize from New South Wales state premier Bob Carr during a visit to Sydney in November.
Recent recipients of the prize - the only international peace prize awarded in Australia - include Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa in 1999, East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao in 2000, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
The Sydney Peace Foundation is a non-profit organization attached to the University of Sydney.
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