GENEVA: Campaigners from Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Chad and Venezuela on Thursday won the Martin Ennals Award, one of the world’s most prestigious human rights prizes, with the jury hailing their “courage”.

The winners are Khurram Parvez, a prominent rights activist in restive Indian-administered Kashmir; Delphine Djiraibe, one of Chad’s first women lawyers; and Feliciano Reyna, a rights activist and advocate for access to health for marginalised LGBTQ people in Venezuela.

“The common denominator between the 2023 laureates... is their courage, passion, and determination to bring the voice of the voiceless to the international arena, despite the ongoing, sometimes life-threatening, challenges they endure,” prize jury chairman Hans Thoolen said in a statement.