Poland in the Council of Europe

Held in Miami, the award ceremony was attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Chair of the Prize Committee, former Polish president Lech Wałęsa, was represented by his son, Polish MP Jarosław Wałęsa. The prize was presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski.

“The ceremony will be remembered as an expression of special recognition of the laureate’s determination and courage, as well as of activities of all Ladies in White and democratic aspirations of the entire Cuban people,” stated the head of Polish diplomacy in his laudatory speech.

Since the awardee could not attend the ceremony for political reasons, Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski presented the commemorative statuette to Irma Santos de Mas, Cuban oppositionist and announced that the laureate would receive PLN 1 million.

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The Lech Wałęsa Solidarity Prize was established in 2014 on Minister Radosław Sikorski’s initiative and was relaunched in 2024. The distinction is awarded for outstanding achievements in promoting and defending democracy and civil liberties  to individuals or organisations that contribute to advancing democracy and civil liberties around the globe with efforts undertaken in the spirit of international solidarity.

Its past laureates include Mustafa Dzhemilev (2014), a leader of the Crimean Tatars, and Zhanna Nemtsova (2015), a journalist, social activist, and daughter of the assassinated Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov. After the initiative was relaunched in 2024, the prize went to Pavel Latushka, a Belarusian dissident, a pro-democracy advocate, and deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus.