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2000 - Samuel Ruiz García
Samuel Ruiz García served from 1959 to 1999 as Bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas (Chiapas, Mexico), a diocese marked by extreme poverty among an indigenous majority population. Some 44,000 indigenous refugees received assistance from his diocese over a period of more than ten years. Samuel Ruiz García lent assistance in various conflicts in Central America and was the advocate of indigenous peoples from North, South and Central America as well as from Europe. He served as mediator in Chiapas and was the inspiring force behind the collegial mediation system, CONAI.
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He was selected by the jury for his remarkable personal involvement and role as mediator, contributing to peace and respect for the dignity of minorities. His promotion of human rights and his social and cultural action in favour of indigenous refugees in Latin America, as well as his interventions for international solidarity underline the ideals and message of Simón Bolívar.
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