Tributes paid to human rights activist

Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Martin today paid tribute to Latin American human rights activist Dr Yuri Giovanni Melini who was honoured for his work.

The Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at risk was presented by actor and human rights activist Martin Sheen to the Guatemalan at a ceremony in Dublin.

The minister said: “Despite enduring terrible physical violence because of his advocacy, Dr Melini has continued to work tirelessly to protect the environment and uphold the rights of indigenous people.

“Indeed the stories of all this year’s Front Line Award nominees serve to remind us of the great personal sacrifices made on a daily basis by human rights defenders all over the world in the selfless pursuit of human dignity and freedom for all.”

The award, which was set up in 2004, honours Dr Melini for his work on behalf of others in the face of great personal danger.

In September 2008 he survived an assassination attempt when he was shot four times. Fifty other environmental activists were threatened.

Attacks against Dr Melini are directly linked to his courageous campaigning to protect the environment and uphold the rights of the indigenous people of Guatemala against commercial interests.

As Director of CALAS Yuri Melini is an inspirational and respected leader challenging the mining companies and demanding accountability for the attacks and killings of environmentalists in Guatemala.

He has led the campaign for an investigation into the murders of environmentalists Erwin Ochoa Lopez and Julio Armando Vasquez who were assassinated because of their work to save supposedly protected areas of the forests.

Dr Melini has published two reports on human rights abuses against environmentalists in which he has documented 128 cases.

Mr Martin praised the Front Line group claiming it has become a hugely effective non-governmental organisation since it was founded in 2001.

He also announced the Department of Foreign Affairs legal division has completed a translation into Irish of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

Front Line is an NGO based in Blackrock, Co. Dublin that seeks to protect vulnerable human rights defenders and is funded by Irish Aid.