Ambassador
Ambassador Event
THE EMBASSY AND INADI GIVE HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS
December 9, 2008
The U.S. Embassy and the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI) recognized Argentine activists for their contribution to the defense and protection of human rights.
On December 9, Ambassador Wayne and the President of INADI, Maria Jose Lubertino, gave certificates of recognition to one NGO and four women for their efforts to advance human rights. Awards were given:
To the men and women of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) -- for its investigation of human rights violations in Argentina and more than 30 conflict-torn countries throughout Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Their efforts to identify the remains of human rights victims have helped many countries, including Argentina, with their reconciliation process by providing closure to the victims’ families.
To Margarita Barrientos, director of a soup kitchen in Los Piletones, who in addition to feeding 1,600 children and adults a day in Villa Soldati, fights to help them gain access to education and health care. Thanks to her work, the soup kitchen now has a child care center, a day center for grandparents, a health center, a library, and diverse programs aimed to train adolescents and women from the neighborhood.
To Dr. Ana Belen Elgoyhen, for her groundbreaking research in molecular hearing which will open new avenues for the identification of potential therapeutic approaches for hearing disorders which may one day improve the quality of life for the hearing-impaired.
To Marilu Ferreira, for her work through the Rights for the Disabled Network (REDI) and the Ombudsman’s Office, to defend, promote, and assert the rights of disabled people, demanding better and greater access to public transportation, jobs, and the full recognition of rights for the disabled.
To Rosario Quispe, leader and founder of the Warmi Sayajsungo Association of Kolla Women in Abra Pampa, Jujuy , who has designed a sustainable microcredit system for 50 indigenous communities that has created thousands of jobs for women.
During the event also spoke Dr. Allida Black, Professor at George Washington University, and one of the leading experts in the ex-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s efforts to draft and ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
