Rigoberta Menchú

Rigoberta Menchú Tum (born in Chimel, Guatemala, January 9, 1959) is a member of the indigenous Quiché Maya group, author of the widely-read but disputed autobiography I, Rigoberta Menchú (1987). She was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize and is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Related Topics:
Chimel - Guatemala - January 9 - 1959 - Quiché - Maya - I, Rigoberta Menchú - 1987 - 1992 - Nobel Peace Prize - UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

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Menchu received a junior high-school education as a student at an Catholic boarding school. After leaving school, she worked as an activist campaigning against human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the decades-long civil war.

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In 1991 Menchú participated in the ongoing preparation by the United Nations of a declaration of the rights of indigenous people.

Related Topics:
1991 - United Nations

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Menchú has also campaigned to have members of the Guatemalan political and military establishment, including ex-military dictator and failed 2003 presidential candidate Efraín Ríos Montt, tried in Spanish courts in 1999 for purported crimes committed against Spanish citizens; these attempts faltered, however. In addition to the deaths of Spanish citizens, the most serious charges include genocide against the Maya people of Guatemala.

Related Topics:
Efraín Ríos Montt - 1999 - Genocide

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In more recent years she has become involved in the Mexican pharmaceutical industry as President of the company Salud para Todos ("Health for All"), with the goal of offering cheap generic medicines to indigenous people in Guatemala.

Related Topics:
Mexican - Pharmaceutical - Generic - Indigenous

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