Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
23 November 2009
Maputo — Graca Machel, the widow of the first Mozambican, President Samora Machel, and her husband, the former South African President Nelson Mandela, were named in Stockholm on Friday the winners of the prize for children's rights.
"We feel extremely honoured by being voted as heroes of the Children's Rights Decade", said the couple in a press release published by the organizers.
"This is a special prize for us because children occupy a special place in our lives and our hearts", reads the document, citing the couple.
Since 1999, the Swedish Children's World Association has awarded the annual World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child for outstanding contributions in defending the rights of children and youth.
This year it was turned into a prize of the decade to celebrate the award's 10th anniversary, with candidates picked from previous winners.
Mandela was cited for his equal rights work for children in South Africa and continuous efforts to defend children's rights. Machel was honoured for her long struggle for the rights of vulnerable children and girls, mainly in Mozambique.
Of the 1.1 million Swedish Crowns of the prize, (about 16,300 US dollars), Machel and Mandela will receive 500,000 Crowns and the remaining amount will be divided among the other 12 runners.
The award ceremony is set for the end of April 2010 in Stockholm. The announcement was made on the date of marking the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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