Tommy Koh, Bo Kyi, Runa Khan Win Magsaysay Awards — SkimNews
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- Tommy Koh, 88, a Singaporean lawyer-diplomat, was honored for presiding over the UN conference of more than 150 countries that adopted the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 — the legal basis for the 2016 Hague arbitration ruling that invalidated China's expansive South China Sea claims, which Beijing continues to defy after refusing to participate in the Philippines-initiated case.
- Myanmar activist Bo Kyi, 61, who spent seven years in prison for pro-democracy work, co-founded the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in March 2000 to document political imprisonment and support detainees and their families, and has called for the release of all political prisoners including former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
- Runa Khan, 67, founded "Friendship Bangladesh" in 2002 after first teaching poor children in 1979; the organization now employs more than 7,500 people and operates seven hospital ships, two land-based hospitals and 550 mobile clinics serving Bangladesh's most destitute.
- The awards, named after Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay who died in a 1957 plane crash and first given in 1958, honor "greatness of spirit" through selfless service across Asia.
- The winners will be recognized at a Nov. 15 ceremony at Manila's Metropolitan Theatre, receiving a medallion, an inscribed certificate and an undisclosed cash prize.
Why it matters: Tommy Koh's UNCLOS is the legal backbone smaller Southeast Asian states lean on against Beijing's South China Sea posture — six governments (China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan) remain locked in territorial standoffs, and China still rejects the 2016 ruling built on Koh's treaty. The award for Bo Kyi also amplifies international visibility for Myanmar's political prisoners at a time when the junta continues to detain dissidents.
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