Benedicto Q. Sánchez

Benedicto Sánchez is a 2005 graduate of the Human Rights Advocates Program from the Philippines. Presently, he is the Program Coordinator of the Broad Initiatives for Negros Development (BIND), a local NGO based in Negros Occidental, Philippines, a court annexed mediator at the Philippine Supreme Court and a columnist of the syndicated community newspaper Sun Star Bacolod.

As Program Coordinator for BIND, Sánchez helps mountain communities advocate for their land and tenurial rights. He works on sustainable mountain development projects that are recommended by the United Nation’s Rio Agenda 21. In addition, he acts as the Southeast geographical representative of the global mountain partnership for sustainable development, a voluntarily alliance of global partners dedicated to improving the well-being, livelihoods and opportunities of mountain people and the protection of mountain environments around the world.

When describing the benefits of HRAP, Sánchez writes, “It opened my eyes to new methodologies and strategies for human rights advocacy. The rights-based approach to development taught me how to apply pressure on State development rights obligations and non-state actors such as multinational corporations to enact better corporate social responsibility practices.” The combination of trainings, workshops, courses and networking opportunities helped him understand how to effectively advocate for economic, social and cultural rights, which are seldom tackled by Philippine’s human rights organizations.

During his time at HRAP, Sánchez formed valuable relationships with professors at Columbia University. Professor J. Paul Martin provided him with an opportunity to share his work. Sánchez co-authored “Collective security: a village-eye view” in United Nations Reform and the New Collective Security with Dr. Joseph Paul Martin. Additionally, Sánchez’s paper, “Does the Food Sovereignty Movement Exist in Negros: The BIND and ONOPRA Experiences on the compendium Food Sovereignty in Southeast Asia” was published in Kasarinlan, the Philippines Journal of Third World Studies.

Sánchez remains in touch with fellow HRAP participants. He writes that the global network of human rights advocates has been an overwhelming source of information and support. He adds, “As I move on to tackle more work along international concerns from the grassroots, I’m confident I can draw on the support of the HRAP community to help out regardless if the arena of action is in the Asia-Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe and Africa.”

—Article composed by Allison Tamer, Program Assistant, April 2013