Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights

The AACR was established in 1942 by Joshua Hassan and Albert Risso, and sought to protect the interests of families evacuated during World War II.

They received wide support from the Governor, General Mason-MacFarlane (later a Labour MP in the United Kingdom), who allowed them to fulfil the representative role that the Committee of the Exchange and the Commercial Library used to fill.

After victory in the 1984 elections Hassan resigned without completing his term as Chief Minister in 1987 after an agreement on the shared use of Gibraltar Airport was signed by Spain and the United Kingdom, citing personal reasons.

The AACR candidate John Piris received only 337 votes and was defeated by Joseph Garcia of the Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG), backed by the GSLP.

The award was presented to Adolfo Canepa, the last AACR Chief Minister to hold office, in John Mackintosh Square on the 59th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.