The James J. Busuttil Medal and Prize for Human Rights

10 December 2024

Today, Human Rights Day, 10 December 2024, the Royal Asiatic Society is delighted to announce the launch of the annual James J. Busuttil Medal and Prize for the publication of a book on human rights, in English, preferably by someone within the first ten years of their academic career.Nominations are invited for books on human rights published during 2024. Submissions must include a paragraph of not more than 500 words detailing why the book should be considered for the Medal and Prize, accompanied by a short biography of the author and one letter of support. Nominations for the inaugural Medal and Prize will close on March 31st 2025. The nominations will be considered by a panel of judges and the winner will be announced by the end of June 2025. The Medal and Prize will be awarded on the recommendation of the judges. The Society will be responsible for administering the Medal and Prize, with a cash award of £1,000. The winner of the Prize will normally be expected to present a public lecture at an open meeting of the Society, either in person or remotely, subject to arrangements mutually agreed between the winner and the Society.

The Medal and Prize are offered by Dr. James J. Busuttil, an activist, author, academic and non-governmental organisation leader in human rights, to promote research and publication on human rights.

Dr. James J. Busuttil FRSA FRAS FRGS FIoD founded the Amnesty International group at Harvard University while a student and later founded the Amnesty group at New York University School of Law. A few years later, he was asked to serve on the Board of Amnesty International USA. He has been on human rights fact-finding missions to Afghanistan, the Soviet Union and Uganda, and has written and published reports on these missions. In addition, Dr. Busuttil has published on international humanitarian law, European human rights, and religion and human rights. He created courses on Information and Communication Technologies for Human Rights; Religion, Human Rights and Social Change; Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and Human Rights Practicum, among others. Dr. Busuttil was director of a major British human rights charity and a member of the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He has served on numerous national and international professional committees concerning human rights.

All correspondence about the Medal and Prize should be addressed to Dr. Alison Ohta: ao@royalasiaticsociety.org