FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES
*** For planning purposes ***
Press contact: Olivia Alperstein, (202) 704-9011, olivia@ips-dc.org
Washington, D.C. – The Institute for Policy Studies will present the 47th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards on October 12, in a ceremony that will take place both in person and online.
The event is free for the press to attend. To RSVP, please reach out directly to Olivia Alperstein at olivia@ips-dc.org.
Domestic Awardee: The 2023 domestic award recipient is Black + Pink, a Black, 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 2023 international award recipient is 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.
What: 47th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards Ceremony
When: October 12, 2023, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET (in person and online)
Where: Friends Meeting of Washington, 2111 Decatur Place NW Washington, DC 20008
Featuring speakers and presenters including:
IPS Executive Director, Tope Folarin
Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02)
Activist and author Raquel Willis
Local business owner and IPS board member Andy Shallal
About the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards: Since 1976, IPS has hosted the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards to honor fallen colleagues Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, who were assassinated by agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Each year, IPS recognizes domestic and international champions of human rights whose work exemplifies the spirit and legacy of Letelier and Moffitt.
In 2012, we presented the Letelier Moffitt Human Rights International Award to the Chilean Student Movement and, in 2021, Chileans elected a Movement leader, Gabriel Boric, as their new President. On September 23, as part of IPS’s annual ceremony to commemorate the assassination of Letelier and Moffitt and the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Chilean coup that ousted democratically elected Chilean president Salvador Allende and installed the brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet, President Gabriel Boric of Chile delivered a special address in English and Spanish at the site of the assassination, Sheridan Circle in Washington, D.C.
“This year, we are proud to honor two organizations that not only embody the spirit and legacy of our fallen IPS colleagues, but that are demanding accountability and justice for marginalized communities by giving them a platform and a voice to demand progress,” said Tope Folarin, Executive Director of the Institution for Policy Studies.
“Here in the United States, Black + Pink fight each day on behalf of incarcerated people and against the U.S. incarceration system itself. Meanwhile, in El Salvador, which has the highest rate of incarceration per capita in the world, the team at Tutela Legal Maria Julia Hernandez work tirelessly to advocate on behalf of thousands of innocent people detained in El Salvador and those who are victims of the country’s Civil War,” continued Folarin. “This year, we honor both of these organizations as heroic human rights defenders who face incredible odds to fight back against the injustice with the criminal justice systems in El Salvador and the U.S.”
Learn more about the 47th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards.
For interviews, comments, or further information, please contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at (202) 704-9011 or olivia@ips-dc.org.
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