The technical secretary of the Citizen Coalition Against Torture (CCTN), Emma Bolshia Bravo, told Prensa Latina that more than a hundred activists and specialists had registered to participate in this lecture by an internationally renowned authority at the Presidente Hotel in La Paz.
Bravo today described as a “very important” event the workshop “Psychosocial Intervention in Vulnerable Populations” led by Martín, which will culminate in this Friday’s conference.
“The doctor of social psychology, Carlos Martín Beristain, graduate of medicine and surgery and specialist in health education, knows well the reality of our continent and is, from a psychosocial point of view, a very valuable interlocutor when working with vulnerable populations,” Bravo told this news agency.
He added that his knowledge would be of great use to those who took part this Wednesday at the Vienna Restaurant in La Paz in this free course for activists and specialists dedicated to working with refugees, people in prisons and other socially disadvantaged groups dedicate.
The technical secretary emphasized that the theoretical and academic arsenal of the Spanish scientist, together with his practical experience in the field, would be very useful for those dealing with this problem in Bolivia.
“I cannot close,” emphasized the head of the Institute of Research Therapy, “without expressing that this workshop is carried out thanks to the Con Buena Razón project financed by the European Union.”
Martín has been working with victims of human rights violations in psychosocial care and collective remembrance projects in numerous countries since 1989.
He was Commissioner of the Colombian Truth Commission (2018-2022) and in this capacity took part in the peace talks in Havana between delegations from the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army.
He was also coordinator of the Guatemala Never Again Report (1994-1998) and advisor to the truth commissions of Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador.
He is also the author of investigations into missing persons and mass graves in Western Sahara, a member of the Victim Assessment Commission (2011-2015) and part of the supporting team of the Gleencree Initiative in the Basque Country (2007-2012).
As a member of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, he also participated in the international investigation into the 43 ordinary students who disappeared in Ayotzinapa, Mexico.
For his extensive work in this field, he received the 1998 León Felipe Prize for Human Rights (1998, Madrid), the Guernica Prize for Human Rights and Reconciliation (2015, Basque Country) and the René Cassin Prize (2020), awarded by the Basque Government in recognition of its work in this field.
jha/jpm