2013
Dr. Denis Mukwege
Acceptance Speech: My profession as a medical doctor led me to become a direct witness to a mass crime….In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape as a strategy of war is even more destructive than military weapons….Sexual violence crimes have been committed in a widespread and systematic manner not only to destroy a woman in her most intimate integrity, but also to tear apart her family and the community.
There is nothing inevitable about the situation…We can end this war and we can stop sexual violence…I believe it is a moral obligation to stand up for human rights and to work to heal the victims so that they become survivors and to support their empowerment worldwide.