Fundación Sergio Méndez Arceo – MEXICO
Fundación Don Sergio Méndez Arceo is a Mexican human rights organization that supports individuals and groups working for human rights and the protection of the environment. Advocates for human rights in Mexico are being killed and imprisoned and need support and protection. Since 1992 Fundación Don Sergio Méndez Arceo has implemented programs and projects to strengthen the capacity of human rights defenders in Mexico to monitor, document and denounce human rights abuses.
Fundación Don Sergio Méndez Arceo annually presents National Human Rights Prizes for the individual and the group most at the forefront of human rights work in Mexico. By receiving this award, the person or organization is given publicity and support for the work in which they are engaged. In cases where the individual is facing persecution for having stood up for human rights in the face of powerful forces, being honored with this prize, also provides some protection. Their work and the cause they are supporting, have become more well-known and have received national recognition.
EPIC supports Fundación Don Sergio Méndez Arceo as an international sponsor in their important work for human rights, non-violent social change, and the environment. Having international support for this Human Rights Prize increases the recognition of the award.
The National Human Rights Prize Don Sergio Méndez Arceo is a collective effort to protect, support, and raise the visibility of important human rights work being done in Mexico. This year the individual prize was awarded to Blanca Isabel Martínez Bustos, for her work with families of disappeared people, children, and indigenous populations seeking self-determination. The collective award was awarded to Colectivo de Saneamiento y Restauración de la Malintzi Tlacualpan, for their work protecting their ancestral lands from illegal logging, pests, and discriminatory development programs.
El Premio Nacional de Derechos Humanos Don Sergio Méndez Arceo es un esfuerzo colectivo para proteger, apoyar y visibilizar trabajo importante en materia de derechos humanos en México. Este año el premio individual se le otorgó a Blanca Isabel Martínez Bustos por su trabajo con familias de desaparecidos, niñxs y pueblos originarios buscando su autodeterminación. El premio colectivo se le otorgó al Colectivo de Saneamiento y Restauración de la Malintzi Tlacualpan por su labor de protexxion de sus tierras ancestrales de tala ilegal, plagas y proyectos desarrollistas discriminatorios.
Gathering in June 2023 of persons who have been awarded the National Human Rights Prize in the past.
Fundación Don Sergio Mendez Arceo annually holds two Human Rights Workshops to prepare persons to engage in important work for human rights, non-violent social change, and protecting the environment. Being active in protecting human rights or the environment is risky in Mexico, and the participants are remarkable, courageous persons!
The 3 days long workshops provide practical knowledge on how to monitor, document, and denounce human rights violations. They will also build a community network, enrich participants’ perspectives, and help them rebuild a social fabric for a peaceful and just country. In the long term, the relationships forged in these gatherings will serve as a network of resources and protection. Participants are encouraged to return to their communities and share the knowledge and tools gained at the workshops, thus multiplying the number of defenders in marginalized communities who have access to human rights theory and practice.
2022 graduates at the School of Human Rights
