The "Women of Hillsborough", who spent nearly 30 years campaigning for the truth of the tragedy to be told, were yesterday honoured by a global union.
The mums of 96 Liverpool football fans, who were fatally crushed on the Leppings Lane terraces, were handed the honour at the World Congress in the city.
They scooped the Freedom from Fear Award in recognition of the past three decades fighting against the establishment.
Represented by campaigner Sheila Coleman and survivor Gillian Edwards, there was a standing ovation to recognise the unwavering commitment from the Hillsborough Family Support Group, the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, and Hope for Hillsborough, the group championed by the late Anne Williams, who lost her 15-year-old son Kevin in Sheffield.
Mrs Coleman told the Congress: "We, as women, never gave in; there’s something in the DNA of Liverpool women.
"When one of us suffers an injustice, we all suffer an injustice, we all stand together."
The original inquest delivered hugely-controversial accidental death verdicts which were finally overturned at the High Court in London, to unlawful killings.
This year, criminal prosecutions are set to go ahead of former police officers, Sheffield Wednesday’s club secretary Graham Mackrell and Peter Metcalf, South Yorkshire Police’s solicitor.
Former chief superintendent Donald Denton, former detective chief inspector Alan Foster and Peter Metcalf, the force’s solicitor at the time, are charged with intent to pervert the course of justice.
Former Merseyside police chief constable Norman Bettison, a chief inspector at the time of the disaster, faces four offences of misconduct in a public office over alleged lies in accounts of his involvement in the 1989 disaster.
Charges have been authorised against ex-match commander David Duckenfield, but he will not be officially charged until a legal stay imposed previously by a senior judge is lifted.
Ms Coleman said: "We are honoured to receive this award from UNI Global Union because we have been judged by our peers; people who understand the meaning of collective fighting and looking out for one another.
"You were there for us right across the globe and we will never forget that."
The campaign’s representatives dedicated their Freedom from Fear Award to the Grenfell Tower justice campaigns.
Ms Coleman added: “May you all find the warrior woman inside you to fight for the justice you deserve.”
Uni Global Union, is based in Nyon, Switzerland, represents more than twenty million workers from over 150 countries in the fastest growing sectors in the world – skills and services.
The Freedom from Fear Awards are presented to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to peace and justice, often in the face of adversity.
