Former slave owner Bartolomé de las Casas became a defender of rights for indigenous American peoples during the severe oppression of Spanish colonial rule.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (b. 1931)
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is an Argentine pacifist, community organizer, and nonviolent activist. He boldy protested the Dirty War in Argentina in the 1970s.
Gustavo Gutiérrez (b. 1928)
Gustavo Gutiérrez is a Peruvian theologian and originator of liberation theology, which opposes unjust social and political structures on a biblical basis.
Paulo Freire (1921-1997)
Paulo Freire was the influential Brazilian eduction theorist who developed critical pedagogy, a philosophy that combines education with critical theory.
Th. Sumartana (d. 2002)
Th. Sumartana was an Indonesian Protestant leader who helped found the first interfaith organizaiton in Indonesia, focusing efforts on peace and democracy.
Wati Aier (b. 1948)
Wati Aier is mediator of peace talks between insurgent factions in Nagaland, a state northeast of India. He has worked to unify the Nagas for over a decade.
Anthony Fabrice Kettemallet
Meet Anthony Fabrice Kettemallet, a young human rights activist in the Central African Republic who founded the organization Bird of Peace.
Boaz Keibarak
Meet Boaz Keibarak, a Kenyan peace-builder who mediated the warring Pokot and Turkana communities. He founded Kingdom of Peace and Development.
Lance Muteyo
Meet Lance Muteyo, a young Zimbabwean peacemaker who finds creative implementations of conflict resolution and various types of activism.
Wilson Thiongo Gathungu
Wilson Gathungu is a Kenyan peacemaker who works to resolve inter-tribal violence in Kenya through peace-building and reconciliation training programs.