The Rafto Foundation announced its annual award in September 2010.

Rafto Prize 2010
José Raúl Vera López (65), the Catholic bishop of Saltillo, Northern Mexico, was awarded the Rafto Prize 2010 for his struggle for human rights and social justice. He is an uncompromising critic of power abuse and a fearless defender of migrants, indigenous peoples, and other groups at risk in Mexican society.

According to the Rafto Foundation, Bishop José Raúl Vera López is characterized as one of the most courageous critics of human rights violations in today’s Mexico. Endangering his own security, he speaks out loudly and without fear against human rights violations, corruption, power abuses and the absence of the rule of law.

Mr. López, right, attended the Rafto Symposium 2010 "Trading Human Rights for Security? The exploitation of migrants in Mexico’s war on drugs" in Bergen 5 November 2010.

In his speech he emphasized the difficult human rights situation in Mexico:

“Talking about human rights in the world today, particularly in Mexico, is inevitably to denounce the violent death and exclusion of millions of men, women and children. This situation challenges us to confront the structural causes leading to systematic violations of human rights and seek solutions at local, regional and international levels”, said Mr. López in Rafto Symposium.

According to him, Mexico is currently suffering the consequences of a socio-political and socio-economic structure that generates systematic violations of human rights.

Aung San Suu Kyi finally free
In November the whole world applauded the release of Burma’s most well known prisoner of conscience Aung San Suu Kyi. Some months earlier, in June, the Burmese community in Bergen, the Rafto Foundation and Amnesty International Region Vest invited everyone to take part in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday ceremony.

A group of about 30 people gathered at the UN Human Rights Plaza outside of the Rafto Human Rights House on 19 June, where a prayer of 65 words was given for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The paroles of the demonstration was a demand to free all political prisoners in Burma, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, no to the upcoming elections and no to Burma developing nuclear weapons.

Earlier this year the Burmese community (which consists mostly of members of the Karen minority) in Bergen expressed their worry about attacks by the Burmese military junta on the Karen people in Eastern Burma to Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Burmese community also requested help from the Norwegian government.

“We are writing to you regarding support for Karen communities around the world, who joined forces for a global day of action on Tuesday, 9th March. This shows we are all holding together, even when we are not at home.

We would like to request that the Norwegian government helps in the call for immediate practical action to stop the attacks”, read the letter to the Norwegian minister.

Free Hu Jia and Liu Xiaobo!
Norwegian NGOs from Bergen paid much attention in 2010 to human rights activists in the People´s Republic of China, many of whom are imprisoned.

In March, 2010 Amnesty International Norway organized a ski tour (below) to honor Hu Jia, a democracy, environment and Aids activist, who serves a jail term for “inciting subversion of state power”. On April 3 2008, he was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in jail. Hu Jia has won the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2008.

The Norwegians who participated in the action, heard an appeal from Tanja Clifford, the leader of Amnesty International Region Vest’s office, at the top of Lønahorgi hill. The movie and pictures of the action were sent to Hu Jia’s wife in the People´s Republic of China. She is being harassed and monitored round the clock.

Bergen NGOs also took part in an annual torch light parade in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December in Oslo. After the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, Chinese political dissident Liu Xiaobo is now the only winner of this prestigious award to remain in detention.