Min Ko Naing is a legendary figure of the student movement in Burma. During the 1988 nation-wide democratic uprising, his statements, speeches and poems aroused the democratic aspirations of the people. Viewed as a threat by the military regime, Min Ko Naing was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. His last known contact with the international community was in 1995, when the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma was permitted to visit him in detention.

Dr. Sein Win is the Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). The NCGUB was created in 1991 as a result of the military regime's refusal to transfer power to the elected representatives of the People's Parliament. It represents the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma on the international scene and receives support from many governments and grassroots organizations.

The John Humphrey Freedom Award is presented each year on December 10, International Human Rights Day, to honour a non-governmental organization or individual for exceptional achievement in the defence or promotion of human rights and democratic development. The Award is named in honour of the Canadian John Peters Humphrey, an internationally renowned human rights lawyer, who prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Award consists of a prize of $25,000. Previous winners include the Instituto de Defensa Legal of Peru (1992), la Plateforme des organismes haïtiens de défense des droits humains (1993), the Campaign for Democracy of Nigeria and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (1994), Bishop Carlos Belo of East Timor (1995), women's rights lawyer Sultana Kamal of Bangladesh (1996), Father Javier Giraldo of Colombia (1997), and Palden Gyatso of Tibet (1998).