DHUMA -Human Rights and Environment- from Puno, Peru has been recognised for their tireless work in defence of indigenous rights in southern Peru with prestigious international human rights prize.
Puno-based human rights organisation DHUMA -Human Rights and Environment- a close Democracy Center ally in our work on the Aymarazo case, has won a prestigious international human rights prize.
On October 4th 2018 in Washington D.C. Cristóbal Yugra Villanueva and Jacinta Yolanda Montoro Flores, accompanied by sister Patricia Ryan, received the 42nd Letelier Moffitt Prize for DHUMA’s dedication to the promotion of culture, autonomy and indigenous self-determination.
Each year the prize is awarded to one national and one international winner. This year DHUMA was the winner of the international prize and they shared the podium with The New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, the domestic prize winners.
Over 300 people attended the ceremony and the trip to the US was an opportunity to strengthen existing alliances in the US and to begin to make new ones with groups and organisations that will help DHUMA to strengthen its work in defence of the rights of Aymara and Quechua indigenous communities in the Puno region of Peru.
Here is a short extract from the DHUMA acceptance speech:
“If I had to summarize in a few words what is at the heart of our work I would say that it consists of drawing attention to what has been invisible and silenced for centuries. DHUMA, above all, is a community of people committed to change and social justice. What we are always looking for is to put our institutional capacity at the service of the demands for justice of the Aymara and Quechua indigenous communities of southern Peru with whom we have been walking together for many years”.