WRC’s VP of External Relations Gayatri Patel Receives UN Human Rights Award

New York, NY — Gayatri Patel, vice president of external relations at the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), will tonight receive the Perdita Huston Human Rights Award. The award — named after the legendary journalist and women’s rights activist — will be conferred by the National Capital Area chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-NCA) during a virtual ceremony.

UNA-NCA works with foreign policy decision-makers, and other organizations, to raise public awareness about the UN through advocacy, outreach, and education. The annual awards ceremony commemorates the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with awards recognizing “outstanding individual and organizations who are working to improve human rights in their communities and around the world.”

“I am humbled by this recognition,” said Patel. “It has been my great honor to work closely with UNA-NCA for many years, alongside so many remarkable human rights advocates whom I deeply admire and respect. Across generations, millions of women get up every day to make the world better for other women, and their work motivates me every day.”

Presenting the award to Patel will be long-time human rights advocate Lyric Thompson, senior director of policy and advocacy at the International Center for Research on Women.

“It is my great pleasure to convey this award to my friend and colleague, Gayatri,” said Thompson. “She is one of the most talented advocates I have ever worked with and I am excited to be part of her well-deserved recognition.”

Patel has spent more than two decades advocating for the human rights of women and displaced persons, including serving in senior roles at CARE USA, the U.S. State Department, and Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) organization.

“On behalf of all of us at the Women’s Refugee Commission, I want to congratulate Gayatri on this well-deserved honor,” said Sarah Costa, executive director of WRC. “Gayatri leads our global advocacy work with compassion and exceptional expertise. This award reflects both Gayatri’s career commitment to human rights and her deep passion for advancing the rights of women and girls around the world.”

Past recipients of the Perdita Huston Humanitarian Award include Sima Samar, former Minister of Women’s Affairs of Afghanistan and human rights advocate, and Zainab Salbi, women’s rights activist and founder of Women for Women International. For more information about this award visit https://www.unanca.org/our-impact/news/conversation-with-gayatri-patel.

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