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France - Equatorial Guinea

Unesco prize suspended after angry lobby

The UN's cultural arm, Unesco, has suspended a science prize funded by the President of Equatorial Guinea.  It follows intense lobbying by anti-corruption campaigners, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Lawrence Jackson
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Human rights and anti-poverty campaigners were outraged that the UN body would lend its support to a prize named after Teodoro Obiang Nguema, a leader they consider a "corrupt dictator".

More than 120 African intellectuals have voiced their objections to the prize - highlighting Equatorial Guinea’s poor human rights record. Tutu even wrote a letter saying he was passionately opposed to the prize.

The 58 members of Unesco’s executive committee will now review the prize for research into life sciences.

The president had offered over 200,000 Euros for three researchers for the next five years to research into Life Sciences.

Internatianal anti-graft campaigners Transparency International put Equatorial Guinea 168th out of 180 countries for corruption.

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