PM wins Appeal of Conscience World Statesman award

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be bestowed the prestigious Appeal of Conscience World Statesman award 2010 on September 21, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York during his visit to the city to address the annual United Nations General Assembly plenary.

Singh will become the first Indian politician to receive the annual award.

'The Prime Minister of the Republic of India will receive the World Statesman Award as a leader of integrity who has earned the respect of his people, for his commitment to democracy, freedom, human rights and peace in the service of humanity,' the Appeal of Conscience foundation said.

The award will be presented by former United States Secretary of State, Dr Henry Kissinger and Paul Volcker, Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

More than 800 leaders of religious, business and public life are expected to join Rabbi Arthur Schneier, founder and president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, to bestow the organization's annual awards at the 2010 Appeal of Conscience Dinner.

Other recipients in the past include former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Gordon Brown and former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

The ACF, founded by Schneier in 1965, has worked on behalf of religious freedom, human rights and tolerance throughout the world. The inter-faith coalition of business and religious leaders promotes mutual understanding, peace and interfaith dialogue.