Mauricio Cornejo
Mauricio Cornejo is an independent trader from Uspallata and an environmental human rights defender dedicated to the exhibition and sale of handicrafts and regional products, promoting a meeting place and a space for cultural activities between tourists and the local community. He is also a member of the Assembly of Self-convened Neighbours of Uspallata, a citizen movement organised to oppose the installation of the San Jorge Mining Project due to its negative impacts on the ecosystem and population of Uspallata.
Human rights defenders have played a long-standing role in Argentina's pursuit of transitional justice, with Adolfo Pérez Esquivel receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for his work as a human rights defender promoting democracy and human rights in the context of dictatorial regimes in Latin America.
For at least a decade, Argentina is established as a state and society that largely respects human rights. However, the crimes of the past and the enduring attempts to assign responsibilities still cloud the situation. While most human rights defenders can operate in freedom, HRDs seeking justice for violations committed during the dictatorship, journalists and trade unionists have received death threats and been subjected to harassment, arbitrary arrest, prosecutions, police violence and smear campaigns. In recent times, defenders have faced new risks, including police brutality, judicial harassment and oppression in indigenous communities.
