Santiago de Chile (EFE).- The President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, presented this Monday the XX Joan Alsina Human Rights Award to the former Chilean President (2006-2010 and 2014-2018) and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, in an act held at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago.
“Giving this award to President Michelle Bachelet is an honor and recognition of her constant and unalterable commitment to the defense of human rights,” said Aragonés, who also highlighted the incorporation of the perspective of the former president as a “contribution” gender and the right to the environment to human rights.
The ceremony recalled the figure of the Catalan priest assassinated by the Police during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990).
“Today Joan Alsina is one of the bridges that unites the shared memory between Chile and Catalonia”, said the Catalan president.
After a few words of thanks, Bachelet recalled the last days of the priest and recalled that “in those days we learned that a person was arrested at the (hospital) San Juan and shot, but at that time we still did not know who was Joan Alsina ”.
The former Chilean president was awarded this recognition in December virtually, but today she has collected the award from Aragonès in a tribute that was also attended by the Spanish ambassador to Chile, Rafael Garranzo; the delegate of the Catalan Government in the Southern Cone, Josep Vives; Miquel Royo, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Catalan Government and President of Casa América Catalunya, which awards the prize; and the president of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights Foundation, Marcia Scantlebury.
With this activity, the Catalan president closes his visit to Chile, where this Monday he also met with the Ministers of the Government of Gabriel Boric for Finance, Mario Marcel, and Economy, Nicolás Grau.
After traveling for nine days, Aragonès has completed his Latin American tour, which has also taken him to Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina.