The Focus Asia Foundation (FAF) has nominated Mama Qadeer Baloch, vice chief of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), and Nargis Baloch (Hooran) for the prestigious Nelson Mandela Prize 2025. FAF stated that this United Nations award is granted to individuals who have demonstrated significant contributions to human rights, social justice, and peace.
Mama Qadeer and Nargis Baloch have been advocating against enforced disappearances and human rights violations for the past 15 years. Their activism has not only given voice to the families of the disappeared but has also drawn international attention to the issue. VBMP has confirmed their nomination for the award.
On Wednesday, Mama Qadeer Baloch, in his daily statement, highlighted the deteriorating situation in Balochistan, alleging that the region is suffering under oppression. He claimed that cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings increased in February, while the media continues to suppress facts and propagate state narratives.
Speaking at VBMP’s protest camp for missing persons, which marked its 5,758th day on Wednesday, he reaffirmed the group’s demand for the safe recovery of the disappeared. Political and social activists from Khuzdar, including Ameer Bakhsh Baloch, Allah Bakhsh Baloch, and Elahi Bakhsh, visited the camp to express solidarity with the families of the missing individuals.