Senior Advocate and founder of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), Colin Gonsalves has been awarded the 2017 Right Livelihood award.

The announcement was made today at the International Press Centre at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs by Ole von Uexkull, Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, and Maina Kiai, Jury member and former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

According to the press release of Right Livelihood Award Foundation,

“Colin Gonsalves is recognised by the jury ‘for his tireless and innovative use of public interest litigation over three decades to secure fundamental human rights for India’s most marginalised and vulnerable citizens.”

Gonsalves is a graduate of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He switched his career to law and enrolled at the Bar in 1982. In the mid 1980s, he along with two other colleagues, Mihir Desai and Gayatri Singh, started People’s Law Centre to provide free legal aid. People’s Law Centre was renamed as Human Rights Law Network in 1989.

HRLN has been instrumental in initiating and conducting public interest litigation cases for various marginalised, sections of the society in myriad issues including Right to Food, shelter etc.

Read the press release below.

Image taken from here.