UiO's Human Rights Award is given out annually during Oslo Peace Days as a recognition of personal efforts and active involvement in one or more areas related to human rights issues in a broad sense.
– This is such a great honour for me, and I’m very grateful to the University of Oslo for recognising my work. I’ve been very lucky over decades that my work with Amnesty International, with The Gulf Centre for Human Rights, with Mary Lawlor – the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders – and with Human Rights First has enabled me to meet and work with Human Rights Defenders working in some of the most difficult places in the world, says Dooley upon having received the news of the award.
Dooley has written numerous reports on human rights defenders and human rights issues based on research in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, China (Hong Kong), Hungary, Kenya, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Ukraine, the USA (Guantanamo), and the United Arab Emirates. His efforts have played a crucial role in exposing human rights violations, and he has actively supported justice in conflict areas, including Ukraine and Northern Ireland.
– Brian Dooley?s contributions represent a unique combination of concrete advice and case-specific work, research, and political advocacy, often related to contentious issues in contexts marked by war or revolution, says Mathilde Skoie, Vice-Rector at the University of Oslo and the Rectorate?s representative on the prize committee.
– We are very happy to award him the University of Oslo?s Human Rights Award for 2025 and look forward to seeing him in Oslo in December, when he will receive the award.
Through his work, Dooley has consistently worked with significant personal risk to ensure that activists on the front lines receive the attention and support they need. He has documented abuses, put the spotlight on human rights defenders, provided direct humanitarian aid in war zones, and contributed strategic political recommendations to protect fundamental freedoms.
– Too often great work by local activists in wars or revolutions, or those living under oppression, goes unseen and unreported. This award helps bring attention to this work, and to those who do it, he says.
About Brian Dooley
- Holds a PhD in civil rights history from the University of East Anglia, an MPhil in political science and politics from the Open University, and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of East Anglia.
- Worked for 16 years in various positions within Amnesty International, including serving as a member of research team in Lebanon during the war in 2006 and in the Gaza conflict in 2008/09.
- Has worked with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights.
- Served as senior advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, from April 2020 to March 2023.
- Appointed Honorary Professor at the Mitchell Institute, Queen's University Belfast, in 2023.
- Has authored several books on political identity and civil rights and has extensive experience working with human rights defenders, including testifying in various European parliaments and the United States Congress.
- Has been involved in writing, commenting, and participating in international media such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, BBC, and Al Jazeera.
More on UiO?s Human Rights Award – Lisl and Leo Eitinger?s Fund