Two indigenous activists from Latin America receive 2003 John Humphrey Freedom Award
Mr. Kimy Pernía Domicó and Ms. Angélica Mendoza de Ascarza have been selected as recipients.
MONTREAL, August 9, 2003 ? Mr. Kimy Pern?a Domic? and Ms. Ang?lica Mendoza de Ascarza have been selected as recipients of the 2003 John Humphrey Freedom Award for their courageous leadership in defending human rights and their relentless search for justice in their respective countries.
"These two grassroots indigenous representatives from Latin America have shown tremendous courage in their fight for justice," said Kathleen Mahoney, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Rights & Democracy and member of the jury. "Their struggles highlight the plight of the disappeared and is an example to all of us who wish to battle impunity. As the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People comes to a close in 2004, they also remind us of the enormous work that still needs to be done for the promotion and defence of indigenous rights everywhere, including here in Canada."
Mr. Kimy Pern?a Domic?is a respected leader of the Embera Katio people of Alto Sinu in Colombia's Cordoba province. A tireless defender of his people's human rights, Mr. Domic? worked for solidarity with other Colombian indigenous peoples and earned an international reputation for his struggle against the construction of the Urra I Dam Megaproject that continues to threaten the existence of the more than 3,000 members of the Embera Katio people.
Mr. Domic? visited Canada twice as part of his efforts to bring the gravity of his people's situation to the world's attention. His first visit to Canada was in November, 1999, to give testimony about the Export Development Act before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He returned in April, 2001, for a presentation in Quebec City during the Peoples? Summit of the Americas. On both occasions the objective of his visit was to denounce the construction of the Urra Dam, a project for which the Canadian Export Development Corporation had provided US $18.5 million.
In June, 2001, Mr. Domic? was abducted by unknown individuals two days after he met with a Canadian mission organized by Rights & Democracy and the Assembly of First Nations of Canada, with the support of the Canadian Embassy in Colombia. The manner in which he was abducted suggested these individuals belonged to paramilitary groups operating in the region.
Mr. Domic?'s disappearance provoked intensive efforts by Colombian and international human rights organizations and the Embera Katio people to ensure investigators found those responsible. Rights & Democracy contributed financing to the search on the ground, in which at least 1,000 indigenous Colombians took part. Two years later, Mr. Domic?'s fate remains a mystery.
Since 1998, when the Embera Katio began their struggle to oppose the construction of the Urra Dam, at least 15 of their leaders have been killed or disappeared.
Ms. Ang?lica Mendoza de Ascarza exemplifies the struggle for truth and justice in Peru. Born 75 years ago in the rural province of Vilcashuaman, in the Department of Ayacucho, Peru, this Quechua-speaking women leads one of the oldest and most prominent human rights organizations to emerge from Peru's internal conflict.
On July 2, 1983, members of Peru's armed forces abducted her son, Arquimedes, who was then a 19-year-old university student. He remains disappeared. In September, 1983, Ms. Mendoza and two other women founded the National Association of Families of Detained, Kidnapped and Disappeared Persons of Peru (ANFASEP). To this day, ANFASEP continues its struggle for truth and justice for Peru's disappeared.
Ms. Mendoza and ANFASEP have faced and overcome incredible odds along the way, including government hostility and widespread public indifference toward this primarily indigenous movement. In 1992, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori accused Ms. Mendoza of being "the ambassador in France of Shining Path's brand of terrorism." Mrs. Mendoza, who had only set foot outside of Peru for two very brief visits, denied the accusations and used the opportunity to denounce the Shining Path's terrorist activities. The government's accusations were eventually thrown out by a Peruvian tribunal.
Ang?lica Mendoza has spent 20 years struggling to bring to light the plight of her son and that of thousands of people who disappeared as a result of Peru's internal conflict. Her resolve has been a crucial element in the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru. According to a recent declaration of the Commission, 60,000 people were killed or disappeared during the 20 years of war that the Peruvian government waged against the Shining Path rebels.
The award ceremony will take place in Ottawa on Tuesday, December 9, 2003.
The John Humphrey Award is presented each year to an organization or an individual for exceptional achievement in the promotion of human rights and democratic development. The Award includes a $25,000 grant and a speaking tour of Canada, and is named in honour of John Peters Humphrey, the Canadian who prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Previous John Humphrey Award winners are Ayesha Imam of Nigeria (2002); Dr. Sima Samar of Afghanistan (2001); Reverend Timothy Njoya of Kenya (2000); Dr. Cynthia Maung and Min Ko Naing of Burma (1999); Palden Gyatso of Tibet (1998); Father Javier Giraldo and the Comision Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz of Colombia (1997); Sultana Kamal of Bangladesh (1996); Bishop Carlos F.X. Belo of East Timor (1995); the Campaign for Democracy of Nigeria and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (1994); the Plateforme des organismes ha?tiens de d?fense des droits humains (1993); and the Instituto de Defensa Legal of Peru (1992).
For More Information
Please contact Steve Smith (ext 255) or Louis Moubarak (ext 261) at Rights & Democracy, 514-283-6073.
