Around the world\, borders can be places of humiliation and indignity. In many countries\, de taining newly arrived immigrants\, asylum seekers awaiting a decision\, or individuals facing deportation is standard practice – often in dire con ditions and with no prospect of release. This continues to happen despite international treaties clearly stipulating that detention may only be used in exceptional circumstances and categorically prohibiting imprisonment o f children.

Depriving someone of their freedom is always a serious i nfringement of fundamental rights and is especially traumatising for peopl e who have experienced violence.

In recognition of its outstanding w ork\, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung will be presenting this year’s Human Rights Award to International Detention Coalit ion (IDC). This global network is committed to improving detention pra ctices worldwide and ultimately putting an end to detention practices alto gether.

We cordially invite you to join us on 13 October 2025 at our award ceremony in honour of an international network that courageously\, persistently\, and successfully defends people who are most at risk of hum an rights violations.

Together we can take a stand for a kinder\, mo re humane migration policy that seeks to strengthen rather than divide soc ieties.

We are delighted that Reem Alabali Radovan\, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the German governme nt\, has agreed to give this year’s presentation speech.

As part o f the event\, we will also be holding a panel discussion on \"Child Detent ion: Reality and Rights in the Context of Migration\"\, with contributions from a number of distinguished speakers\, including:

S askia Esken\, chairwoman of the Bundestag Committee on Education\ , Family Affairs\, Senior Citizens\, Women and Youth
Dr Na jat Maalla M'jid\, United Nations Special Representative of the S ecretary-General on Violence against Children
Prof Dr Cons tantin Hruschka\, migration expert\, Protestant University of App lied Sciences Freiburg
Carolina Gottardo\, Intern ational Detention Coalition

For further information\, please v isit our website: FES Human Rights Award 2025

Th e event will be interpreted. The event will take place on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible. There is barrier-free access to the event r ooms. Please let us know if you have any special requirements\, such as si gn language interpretation\, support for blind or visually impaired people \, or the need for assistance.