On Oct. 10, the Institute for Policy Studies’ 48th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards Will Honor Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) and Rabbis for Ceasefire and the Concejo de Autoridades de 48 Cantones de Totonicapán
What: Institute for Policy Studies’ 48th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards
When: Thursday, October 10th from 5:30 to 8:00 PM ET
Where: Friends Meeting of Washington, D.C.
2111 Decatur Place NW, Washington, D.C., 20008-1912
(The ceremony will also be livestreamed. Link will be provided to virtual attendees.)
Press contact below
Washington, D.C. – The Institute for Policy Studies’ 48th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards will be held on Thursday, October 10th from 5:30 to 8:00 PM ET at the Friends Meeting of Washington, D.C. The event will be also livestreamed.
For over four decades, the Institute for Policy Studies has held an annual awards ceremony to honor the spirit and legacy of former Chilean ambassador to the United States Orlando Letelier and his Institute for Policy Studies colleague Ronni Karpen Moffitt, who were assassinated in 1976 by agents of authoritarian Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet when a car bomb was detonated in Sheridan Circle as they made their way to work in Washington, D.C.
In honor of their tireless work to advance human rights and dignity, each year IPS honors outstanding champions of human rights and celebrates the work they do to advance justice, peace, and dignity for all.
This year, the domestic recipients of the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards are jointly the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) and Rabbis for Ceasefire for their work to advance human rights and dignity for Palestinians and to demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The international recipient is the Concejo de Autoridades de 48 Cantones de Totonicapán, for their work to fight for human rights and autonomy for 48 groups of Maya K’iché’ people and to increase access to opportunities for indigenous peoples throughout Guatemala.
Read more details about the awards ceremony.
The award ceremony is open to members of the media to attend. To RSVP as press, please contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at (202) 704-9011 or olivia@ips-dc.org.
“Each year, IPS’s Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards boost visionary voices. 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,” noted IPS Executive Director Tope Folarin. “Together, all of our awardees help create the future we aspire to share.”
About the Awardees:
Domestic Awardees: The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) has changed the tide of public opinion on Palestine over the past 10 years by providing journalists with quick, reliable access to information about Palestine by Palestinians.
Rabbis for Ceasefire is an ad-hoc group of Rabbis across denominations organizing towards a ceasefire in Gaza and a just peace in Israel-Palestine.
International Awardee: The Concejo de Autoridades de 48 Cantones de Totonicapán convenes the ancestral community authorities of 48 groups of Maya K’iché’ people to defend democracy and increase access to opportunities for indigenous peoples in Guatemala.
“We aim to recognize the often unsung heroes throughout the hemisphere who fight for economic, cultural, social, and civil rights. Our joyful ceremony each October celebrates the victories, struggles, and stories of those who fight for justice in the Americas,” added Folarin.
About the Assassination of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt:
In 1973, 10 years after the Institute for Policy Studies opened its doors with the belief that progressive thought, advocacy, and action can build a better society, Chile’s democratically elected government was overthrown by a military coup.
These two histories became inextricably linked on September 21, 1976, when agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet detonated a car bomb in Washington, D.C. that killed Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean diplomat and Director of IPS’s Transnational Institute, and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, an IPS Development Associate, in Washington, D.C.
In addition to his work at IPS, which stressed the relationship between economic rights and political freedom, Letelier had become one of the most outspoken critics of Pinochet. Moffitt ran a “Music Carryout” program to make musical instruments accessible to all. Her fundraising work at IPS stressed that we will not further democracy and equity in this country unless we stand with those seeking justice abroad.
A massive FBI investigation traced the crime to the highest levels of Pinochet’s regime and over the past decades there have been measures of justice, including the prosecution of numerous individuals involved in the bombing, a successful civil suit against the Republic of Chile on behalf of family members, and the indictment of Pinochet himself in his home country.
The Letelier-Moffitt Awards have played a vital role in the fight for justice for our fallen colleagues and in fueling struggles against injustice all over the world.
About the Institute for Policy Studies
For over six decades, the Institute for Policy Studies has served as a multi-issue research institution conducting path-breaking analyses on inequality issues and bold policy solutions to bridge the racial, wealth, and income gaps that divide us. Subscribe to IPS’s weekly newsletter to read our latest research and expert perspectives on urgent issues impacting communities in the U.S. and around the world.
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