Colombian Women’s Rights Advocate wins International Award
Women’s rights and gender justice advocate Patricia Guerrero has been awarded the prestigious 2017 American Bar Association (ABA) International Human Rights Award for her dedication to the advancement of human rights in Colombia. Ms. Guerrero is the founder of La Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas, the League of Displaced Women, which advocates for the rights of internally displaced Afro-Colombian and indigenous women and children in Cartagena, Colombia, in the context of the long-standing conflict in the country. Over many years, La Liga has worked to build the capacity of displaced women to document and prosecute cases of forced displacement and violence. When such cases were not able to be pursued domestically, La Liga filed lawsuits with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.
The ABA established the International Human Rights Award in order to “honour and give public recognition to an individual or organization that has made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of human rights outside the United States.” Ms. Guerrero and La Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas have been working with displaced women in Cartagena since 1998, providing humanitarian support, shelters for displaced children and uniting women as a form of resistance to armed conflict.
Read more about the ABA’s International Human Rights Award to Ms.Guerrero here.