47th annual Letelier-Moffitt human rights awards
October 12 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm EDT
IN PERSON and ONLINE
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) established the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards in 1976 to honor Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, who were assassinated by the Pinochet regime for their work to defend democracy and human rights in Chile. Today, these awards celebrate new champions of human rights and memorialize the victims of the Pinochet dictatorship.
Every year, IPS awards one group from the United States and one from Latin America and the Caribbean. IPS aims to recognize the often unsung heroes throughout the hemisphere who fight for economic, cultural, social, and civil rights. The ceremony each October celebrates the victories, struggles, and stories of those who fight for justice in the Americas. Awardees have gone on to become progressive presidents in Brazil, Colombia, and Chile, overthrow Chile’s Pinochet-era constitution, win landmark unionization campaigns against corporate powers, and stand strong against multinational companies trying to displace Indigenous peoples from their lands.
This year’s awards honor:
Domestic awardee: This year’s domestic award recipient is Black and Pink, a trans-led organization founded in 2005 that is dedicated to abolishing the criminal punishment system and fighting for LGBTQIA2S+ people and people living with HIV/AIDs through advocacy, support, and organizing.
International awardee: The international award recipient is Pax Christi member group Tutela Legal Maria Julia Hernandez, a leading group of lawyers in El Salvador who are committed to defending thousands of innocent people who have been detained under the Salvadoran State of Emergency and victims of human rights violations during that country’s civil war.