High Commissioner on National Minorities

The Max van der Stoel Award was established in 2001 by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The Award honours Max van der Stoel, a prominent Dutch statesman who was the first OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, and at the same time supports the work of the HCNM.

The Max van der Stoel Award, a prize worth EUR 50,000, is presented every two years to a person, group or an institution for extraordinary and outstanding achievements in improving the position of national minorities in the OSCE participating States.

The office of the HCNM manages the selection process. Nominations are put forward by the OSCE missions and institutions, delegations of the OSCE participating States and the OSCE HCNM. After drawing up a shortlist of candidates, a specially composed international jury, chaired by the High Commissioner, chooses the winner of the Award.

Since its establishment, three organizations have received the Max van der Stoel Award: the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies (2003), the "Memorial" International Historial Enlightenment, Human Rights and Humanitarian Society (2005) and the European Roma Rights Centre (2007).