Civil Rights Defenders
Maria Pia Alvira currently serves as the Department Director for Latin America at Civil Rights Defenders, where responsibilities include opening and managing the Bogotá office as the Latin America Hub, overseeing operations related to legal, financial, and human resources aspects. With extensive experience in human rights, Maria Pia has managed a significant grant portfolio focused on peacebuilding and civic space defense in Latin America. Previous roles include consultant positions with the Secretaria Distrital de Seguridad and the Human Rights Presidential Advisor's Office in Colombia, where Maria Pia contributed to the design of restorative justice models and the implementation of national human rights policies. Maria Pia's academic background includes a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Democratization from Universidad Externado de Colombia and an undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Universidad de Los Andes.
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Civil Rights Defenders
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Civil Rights Defenders is an international human rights organisation, founded in 1982 in Stockholm, Sweden. We defend people’s civil and political rights and empower human rights defenders in Sweden and globally. All countries need a strong civil society that scrutinizes those in power and presses for positive development. That is why we combine human rights work with efforts to empower local human rights defenders. Together with local partners we monitor the authorities and demand accountability when they violate human rights in law or practice. We take legal action against states, and inform and lobby decision makers to effect change and seek justice. Local human rights defenders are at the centre of all our work. We draw attention to their situation, and seek to support them with training, resources or expertise to protect the space in which they act and strengthen their work. Civil Rights Defenders was founded as a part of the Helsinki movement, under the name Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights. In 2009, we decided to change our name into one that better reflects our work and objectives today.