McGee who was stationed in Zimbabwe during the tumultuous period 2007 and 2009 and was in constant brush with President Robert Mugabe’s government for his stance on democracy and respect for human rights.
While Olša, jr. who was the Czech ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2006 was selected to be awarded the Palmer Prize for Diplomats by the secretariat for the International Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies (CCD) for his contribution to the advancement of democracy while serving as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Republic of Zimbabwe in 2000 to 2006.
According to CCD, the two diplomats were honored along with five others for their “contributions to the cause of democracy and human rights”.
The award is aimed for diplomats, who have made significant contributions to the advancement of democracy in their countries of assignment, in the two’s particular case of Zimbabwe.
“During his long term in Zimbabwe, Ambassador Olša, jr. advocated for free and fair elections during the 2002 Presidential and 2000 and 2005 Parliamentary elections and did his best to ensure that a true record of what he observed reached local and other observer missions and the international community,” said CCD in a statement.
In reference to McGee CCD said that, he “provided unwavering support for various programmes, to foster civic participation, defend human rights, and strengthen the electoral process in the highly challenging environment of Zimbabwe in 2008.”
The first awarding ceremony was held at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 1, 2011, with delegations of 72 countries attended, headed by many distinguished personalities, among them US Secretary of State Ms.
Hillary Clinton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Baroness Catherine Ashton, Presidents of Mongolia and Lithuania, as well as Ministers of Foreign Affairs of more than twenty countries, including Canada, India, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Tunisia and Moldova.
Olsa who is now stationed in the Republic of Korea also contributed immensely in giving the world the Zimbabwean picture through articles and books on history and politics of the then Zimbabwe The two diplomats worked with civil society and explored various ways in which they could support the Zimbabwean people’s struggle for democracy.
Post published in: Politics