Mr. Speaker, yesterday, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, I had the privilege of giving out the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medals at a ceremony in my riding that also expressed solidarity with human rights heroes around the world.
These heroes include: Malala Yousafzai, whose advocacy for equal rights has inspired us all; Maria Lourdes Afiuni, Venezuelan judge detained for exercising her judicial independence; Eskinder Nega, Ethiopian journalist imprisoned for critiquing the Ethiopian government; Nasrin Sotoudeh, imprisoned Iranian lawyer who, together with the imprisoned Baha'i, symbolize the struggle for human rights in Iran; Liu Xiaobo, Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate, imprisoned for exercising his free speech; and Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian lawyer tortured and murdered in detention for exposing the culture of corruption in Russia, whose colleague, Bill Browder, is in Ottawa today as part of the mission to bring those responsible to justice.
I ask all members to join in an expression of solidarity with these courageous individuals on the front lines of the struggle for human rights and justice in the world today.