(New York) – Mariana Lozano, a young activist from Colombia, has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Human Rights Watch Malca Bristo Fellowship for Leadership in Disability Rights, Human Rights Watch announced today, in celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
Ms. Lozano has emerged as a defender of the rights of young people with disabilities in Colombia. She is part of the Different Minds Multiactive Cooperative (Cooperativa Multiactiva Mentes Diferentes, Coopmente), an organization that supports people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Her vision is to represent young people with disabilities and promote their independence, rights and inclusion in society. As part of her university studies, Ms. Lozano is learning about the legal mechanisms essential to protect the rights of people with intellectual disabilities.
“I want to empower people with intellectual disabilities to make their own decisions,” Lozano says. “I want them to be visible. We have rights, we have dreams, we have the right to an education, to participate in the workforce, to live independent, happy lives.”
As a woman with an intellectual disability, Lozano overcame prejudice and exclusion to gain important life skills, such as financial literacy and personal safety, that are central to her independence and autonomy.
“We are thrilled to honor Mariana Lozano, an aspiring young leader in the disability rights movement,” said Shanta Lau Barriga, disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Her work for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities is a testament to her vision of a society where people with disabilities are respected and accepted. As she said, ‘When you know your rights, you can claim them.'”
Lozano’s work comes at a time when human rights are under threat in the Americas, with democratic institutions under attack, judicial independence challenged, the continued institutionalization of people with disabilities, and threats to civil society. In these contexts, people with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities, often face social and economic marginalization and difficulty accessing education and employment.
As part of her fellowship, Lozano will receive training in research, advocacy, communications, and fundraising from her colleagues at Human Rights Watch over the next year. The fellowship will provide an opportunity for Lozano to build and strengthen her network with other organizations and advocacy activists, especially those working on the rights of people with intellectual disabilities, particularly access to inclusive education, employment, and legal capacity.
Human Rights Watch established the fellowship in 2020 to honor disability rights icon Malka Bristo, founder of Access Living and first chair of Human Rights Watch’s Disability Rights Advisory Committee. Bristo was influential in the adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and helped shape Human Rights Watch’s disability rights strategy. Bristo encouraged Human Rights Watch to actively engage people with disabilities in its work and to work to nurture budding disability rights activists.
Lozano is MARCA-BRIST’s fourth fellow. Previous MARCA-BRIST fellows Hauwa Ojeifo, Brian Russell and Benafsha Jacobi continue to work closely with Human Rights Watch to advance disability rights. Ojeifo, a Nigerian mental health activist, delivered the opening remarks at the 14th UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP).
Russell, a young man with an intellectual disability who ran for Congress in Peru, traveled to Mexico to support intellectual disability advocacy groups seeking political inclusion, while Jacobi remains a leading voice for disability rights in Afghanistan and in exile.
Daisy Feit, executive vice president of Access Living, said, “For many years, the fellowship has helped develop young leaders with disabilities. Lozano embodies the passion and purpose needed to advance disability rights for people with intellectual disabilities in the Americas and beyond, and we look forward to watching her work make a significant impact this year and for years to come. Malca will be proud.”