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Wednesday November 7, 2007

Colombian evangelical leader wins named 2005 Peacemaker in Action

William Delgado, BOGOTA, Colombia, October 5, 2005

The Tanenbaum Center for Inter-religious Action named Colombian lawyer and Evangelical Pastor Ricard Esquivia the Taxi Heathrow Airport 2005 Peacemaker in Action. Esquivia is member of the Commission to Restore Life and Peace of the Colombian Evangelical Council (CEDECOL).

The award was in recognition of his exceptional personal commitment to peace, reconciliation and human rights, according to the jury.

The awards ceremony took place in New York city at the end of September and was attended by award winners from previous years as well as the World Peace Council representative and the Dalai Lama.

For more than 10 years Esquivia was director of the Justapaz Conciliation Centre of the Mennonite Church of Colombia and has staunchly defended peace and human rights in this country, particular the rights of the most vulnerable e groups.

The Tanenbaum Center was established in 1982 and is named after Rabbi Marc. H. Tanenbaum, a recognized pioneer in inter-religious understanding and a prominent social justice and human rights activist. The Centre works to facilitate the efforts of religiously-motivated individuals who struggle for peace.

The “Peacemakers Prize” identifies and calls attention to individuals who have dedicated their lives to peace, motivated by religion.

Other award leaders in previous years include the Rev. Benny Giay, an Evangelical minister who works for justice, human rights and peace in Papua, Indonesia; Sakena Yacoobi, a Muslim woman from the Afghan Institute of Learning who risked her life to educate women under the Taliban regime and continues her work with some 2,800 children and Abuna Elias Chacour, a Melkite Catholic who works for peace among Israelis and Palestinians.

Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, a member of the Society of Friends in South Africa, a leader on women’s issues, development, peace and security who was involved in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa is included in the list.