NEWS: The European Parliament announced the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its officials as collective winners of the 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

ABOUT SAKHAROV PRIZE

• Award: European Union’s highest honour for human rights.
• Instituted: 1988.
• Named After: Andrei Sakharov → Soviet nuclear physicist + Nobel Peace Prize laureate + political dissident.
• Conferred By: European Parliament.
• Award Amount: €50,000.
• Ceremony: December → Strasbourg, France.
• First Recipients (1988): Nelson Mandela + Anatoly Marchenko.

2026 WINNER

• Recipient: International Criminal Court + its officials.
• ICC President: Tomoko Akane.
• Significance: Recognises institutional resilience + commitment to international criminal justice.

ABOUT ICC

• Established: 2002 → Rome Statute entered into force.
• Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands.
• Mandate: Prosecutes individuals for genocide + war crimes + crimes against humanity + crime of aggression.
• Principle: Complementarity → Acts when national jurisdictions are unwilling or unable genuinely to investigate or prosecute.