“To create this new society, we must present outstretched and friendly hands, without hatred or rancor, even as we show great determination and never waver in the defense of truth and justice. Because we know that we cannot sow seeds with clenched fists. To sow we must open our hands.”
-ADOLFO PÉREZ ESQUIVEL

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is an influential and fervent champion of human rights in Latin America. He is a man of faith and action, and currently serves as President of the Honorary Council of Service, the Latin American Peace and Justice Service, the International Academy of Environmental Safety and the International League for Human Rights and Liberation of Peoples. He is also an active board member of the People’s Permanent Assembly and the International Year for a Culture of Peace.

Mr. Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires in 1931. He studied architecture and sculpture at the National School of Bellas Artes and the University of La Plata, where he was appointed as Professor of Architecture after earning his degree. He taught classes in secondary schools as well as at the university level, and sculpted for many years before becoming involved in non-violent peace and justice movements in Latin America.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Esquivel resigned from his teaching position and began earnestly working to address human rights abuses in Latin America. During this time, he was named Secretary-General of the newly formed Peace and Justice Service, and began coordinating non-violent initiatives in Latin America. Through the Peace and Justice Service, Mr. Esquivel put his Christian faith into action: he traveled to Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Honduras, coordinating local peace movements and assisting disadvantaged farmers in their struggles with wealthy landowners. He was also instrumental in coordinating a campaign to persuade the United Nations to establish the Human Rights Commission.

As a result of his commitment to expose and combat human rights abuses, Mr. Esquivel became a target of Argentina’s military dictatorship. In 1977, he was imprisoned and tortured by Argentinian authorities for over a year. He was freed in 1978, after being named Amnesty International’s “Political Prisoner of the Year,” prompting thousands of letters to pour into government offices demanding his release. Two years later, Mr. Esquivel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership and service to the people of Latin America; he received it “in the name of the poorest and smallest of my brothers and sisters, because they are the most beloved of God.”

Today, Mr. Esquivel continues his work with the Peace and Justice Service. He recently coordinated a campaign to cancel the debt of struggling third world countries, and has launched two “Peace Villages” that provide training and housing for Argentinian orphans.