Gebruiker:MarysevdBurg1997/kladblok

Aura Lolita Chavez Ixcaquic

Aura Lolita Chavez Ixcaquic is primarily recognized for her leadership position at the Council of the Quiche People for the Defense of Life, Mother Nature, Land and Territory in Guatemala. This is an indigenous initiative of the Mayan Quice people that endeavors to engage in harmonious dialogues, to coordinate peaceful community consultations and to implement collective counteractions against the impending expansion of maleficent and polluting multinationals (hydroelectric and agricultural mega projects and petrol and mining companies). Specifically, this means that assemblies of the Quice people stipulate the conditions for multinationals, which necessitate those to receive permission from the native assemblies to modify and consequentially affect the territorial residence of the Quice people. To justify this procedure, Chavez invokes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to bestow upon her people the right for self-determination and environmental protection against external forces.

Furthermore, Chavez has been designated by the European Parliament as a nominated EFA/Greens candidate for the Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought in 2017. Unfortunately, the European Parliament has also raised the alarm due to severe indigenous rights violations (genocide, rape, dispossession, land grabbing, cultural alienation) and the Guatemalan government's negligence regarding the protection of indigenous populations. In addition, the Guatemalan government formulated a new legislation that considers human rights activist to be terrorists. As a consequence, Chavez has already been criminalized and risked persecution by the authorities. Therefore, she has fled to Spain in June 2017 to secure her safety abroad.