Six international human rights activists visit eleven Catalan municipalities

From March 30 to April 6, six activists for human rights, from Western Sahara, El Salvador, Cameroon, Peru, and Colombia, will visit eleven catalan municipalities to explain, as direct witnesses, the violations of human rights that are occurring in their countries of origin.

These visits are part of the VII edition of the Cities of Human Rights Advocacy project promoted by the 'Fons Català de Cooperació al Desenvolupament', the 'Comissió Catalana d’Ajuda al Refugiat', the’Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya', and the 'Institut Català Internacional per la Pau'. 

The six activists completing these visits consist of Amanda Quijano, Candy Chévez, Edda Pando, Hassanna Aalia, Leonard Rentería, and Sonia Mankongo. Amanda Quijano is a defender of women's rights and a member of the Feminist Collective of El Salvador. Candy Chévez is a Salvadoran researcher for the social inclusion of girls deprived of freedom with the String Orchestra. Edda Pando is participating in this edition of the project as a defender of the rights of migrants from Peru to Italy. Hassanna Aalia is a defender of the rights of the Sahrawi people, refugees in the Basque Country. Leonard Rentería is a poet, rapper and activist who works to strengthen Afrodescendent communities of Buenaventura (Colombia). Finally, Sonia Mankongo is defender of the rights of women and girls in Cameroon.

These six activists participate in numerous activities, including talks and various meetings in the municipalities of Caldes de Montbui, Cornellà del Vallès, Mataró, Mollet del Vallès, Reus, Rubí, Sabadell, Sant Feliu del Llobregat, Tarragona, Vilafranca del Penedès , Vilanova i la Geltrú, and Barcelona.

The objective of this initiative is to raise awareness among citizens about the importance of defending human rights, and that these people suffering receive international support for their struggles. For this reason, the activities that are organized over these days seek to raise awareness about the role of human rights defenders. That is, all those people who put their security at risk and their freedom to denounce human rights violations.

Casa Amèrica de Catalunya, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Trustees and Local Defenders Forum, the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, and the Metropolitan Area of ​​Barcelona also participate in this project.