Journalists Al Rabih Ould Edum from Mauritania, Najah Alosaimi from Saudi Arabia and Simba Russeau from Lebanon are among the 30 winners of the Every Human Has Rights Media Awards, organised by Internews Europe. The public is now invited to vote for their favourite among the 30 winning stories. 

From Mauritania, Al Rahib Ould Edum wrote the article "The Youngest Mauritanian Divorcee", about violating the rights of children and the courage of a young girl who was forced to into marriage. Najah Alosaimi from Saudi Arabia wrote the article "Stalement on 'Mahram' condition continues", about the issue of young female students receiving scholarships to go to foreign countries to have a mahram, guardian, to travel with them. The added expense and layers of complication make it impossible for many women to accept these Saudi government scholarships. From Lebanon, Simba Russeau did the radio feature "Sending Money Home" about migrant workers and the extremly harsh living conditions they have to endure. To read/listen to/watch all the winning contributions, click here

The public is now invited to vote for their favourite story, which will receive the Prize of the public for the most eye opening report. Deadline for the public vote is 30 November, 2008. 

The Every Human Has Rights Award is organised in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The award is supported by The Elders, which is a group of world leaders convened by Nelson Mandela to use their wisdom, independent leadership and experience to tackle some of the world's toughest problems. Other founding Elders are Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Mary Robinson, Lakhdar Brahimi, Graca Machel, Muhammad Yunus, Fernando Cardoso, Gro Brundtland, Ela Bhatt and Jimmy Carter.

To find out more about the award and vote for your favourite, click here