AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
MEDIA ADVISORY
14 September 2017
EU: Prominent Mexican activist in Brussels to demand action on human rights
· Gustavo Castro, activist and sole witness to the murder of Honduran Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres, available for interview in Brussels
Prominent Mexican environmental activist Gustavo Castro will be in Brussels next week to demand EU policy makers ramp up their efforts to better protect and support human rights defenders across the globe.
Gustavo Castro, coordinator of Friends of the Earth Mexico and director of the Chiapas-based NGO Otros Mundos, will outline the often deadly risks human rights defenders face.
He was the sole witness to the murder of Honduran Indigenous leader and land rights activist Berta Cáceres, who was shot dead by armed men who broke into her home on 2 March 2016. He was injured during the attack.
“Fundamental human rights, and people working to protect their lands, are under deadly attack in Central and Latin America. The EU must urgently step up its support for human rights and those of us who defend them in the region,” he said.
Gustavo Castro will be in Brussels between 20-21 September as part of Amnesty International’s BRAVE campaign.
“Human rights defenders like Gustavo undertake their work at immense personal risk, with the threats often coming from their own governments. Amnesty International is calling for the EU to be more vocal and visible in their support for them,” said Iverna McGowan, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Amnesty International press office on [email protected] +32 2 548 27 73 or +32 483 680 812
Amnesty report “Human rights defenders under threat: a shrinking space for civil society”: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act30/6011/2017/en/