Mary Robinson Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences 2006

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, made up of Mr. Gonzalo Anes, Ms. Carmen Caffarel, Ms. María Emilia Casas Baamonde, Ms. Pilar del Castillo, Ms. Adela Cortina, Mr. Álvaro Cuervo, Mr. Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, Mr. Ángel Gabilondo, Mr. José Luis García Delgado, Mr. Manuel Jesús González, Mr. Luis González Seara, Mr. Alex Grijelmo, Ms. María del Carmen Iglesias, Mr. Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, Mr. Hans Meinke, Mr. Adolfo Menéndez, Mr. Aurelio Menéndez Menéndez, Ms. Ana Rosa Migoya, Mr. José Oliu i Creus, Mr. José Manuel Otero Novas, Mr. Juan Ramón Quintás, chaired by Mr. Manuel Fraga Iribarne with Mr. Juan Vázquez as secretary, has decided to bestow the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences on Mary Robinson, jurist, lecturer and politician, and former President of the Republic of Ireland.

The Jury appreciates that the Laureate, who from an important university position and dedicated to the our culture´s most noble values, has been devoting her intense life to the struggle to overcome the obstacles that prevent many from exercising effectively their human rights, to the attainment of balanced international relations, and to the consolidation of humanist principles in our era´s globalized world, by offering her non-conformist, brave and far-reaching voice to those who cannot speak for themselves or can barely be heard.

The Jury wishes to highlight Mary Robinson´s moral fibre for bravely defending what she understands to be the demands of her mind and self conscience; for joining those who stress the importance of ethical behaviour in politics and intellectual work; and also wishes to underline the Laureate´s tenacious contribution to making a world without boundaries for free men and women, a reality.

Oviedo, 8^th June 2006