Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards

Wednesday, October 19, 2005
National Press Club Ballroom

Domestic Award to Barrios Unidos
Presented by Constance Rice, co-director of The Advancement Project, Los Angeles.

International Award Judge Juan Guzman of Chile
Presented by Joyce Horman, whose story was depicted in the film Missing

See photos from 2005 Awards ceremony

See photos and more from this year's Sheridan Circle Memorial Ceremony

2005 Award Recipients

Barrios Unidos founder Nane Alejandrez. Photos by Jeremy Bigwood. Click to enlarge. More photos.

Barrios Unidos, or United Neighborhoods, is a community-based peace movement targeting at-risk youth involved with gangs. Initially formed in 1977 in California, it has since become a multi-state organization. The mission of Barrios Unidos is “to prevent and curtail violence amongst youth by providing them with life-enhancing alternatives,” such as employment and educational opportunities. Over the past twenty-five years Barrios Unidos has developed a model that seeks to reclaim and restore the lives of struggling youth while promoting unity amongst families and neighbors through community building. The non-profit organization has held gang peace summits in Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, El Paso, Texas and Santa Cruz, California.

Press release: 2005 Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards honors Barrios Unidos

Judge Juan Guzman Tapia. Photos by Jeremy Bigwood. Click to enlarge. More photos.

When Augusto Pinochet left detention in Britain and returned to Chile in March 2000, many thought he would remain forever beyond the reach of justice. Judge Juan Guzman Tapia had other plans. Within 72 hours, Guzman moved to strip Pinochet’s immunity from prosecution, initiating a series of prosecutions that continue today. Twice – in 2000 and again in 2004 – Guzman succeeded in indicting Pinochet. Though in both cases superior courts declared Pinochet mentally unfit for trial, Judge Guzman’s work has given new hope to Pinochet’s victims, helped strengthen the rule of law in Chile, and inspired victims of tyranny the world over to seek justice against human rights violators who once seemed immune to judicial accountability.

Guzman retired from the Santiago Court of Appeals in April 2005, and was recently appointed as dean of the law school at Central University in Santiago. His memoir, En el borde del mundo. Memorias del juez que procesó a Pinochet, is now a best seller in Chile.

Press release: 2005 Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards honors Judge Juan Guzman

For more information, contact: Scott Williams, 202/234-9382, ext. 236, scott@ips-dc.org

The 29th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards