Friday, October 7, 2011. 7:00pm. Room 5409
The CUNY Graduate
Center 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
SUBWAY: trains B,D,F,M,N,Q or R to 34th Street – Herald Square
Light refreshements will be served.
Our speaker is Adil Melendez, a defender and promoter of human rights and fundamental constitutional rights of vulnerable communities. He is also a member of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE). He previously served as coordinator for the National Movement for the Human Rights of Afro-Colombian Communities (CIMARRON) in Cartagena. He also worked with communities in Cartagena affected by the construction of large infrastructure projects.
Adil works in the Montes de Maria region, located in the departments of Bolivar and Sucre. He is regularly threatened and harassed by right-wing paramilitary groups, who have attempted to assassinate him on two occasions, and has also been threatened by FARC guerillas. Adil is currently a recipient of preventive security measures by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.
During his stay in the United States, Adil will discuss the human rights situation and the displacement of communities in the departments of Bolivar and Sucre. He will also speak about his personal experiences of harassment and threats, the effects of a potential free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States on the Afro-Colombian community, and the “other side” of Cartagena.
