Juan Bernardo Rosado Duque

A 1996 graduate of the Human Rights Advocates Program, Juan Bernardo Rosado Duque describes his experience at HRAP as “an extraordinary, intensive and enriching experience of immersion in the globalization of human rights”. Furthermore, he states, “besides the technical formation, in 1996, HRAP meant for me the entrance to the global world of politics, organizations and the theoretical development of human rights”.

Since he finished the program, Rosado Duque has gone on to achieve notable professional and academic accomplishments. Since 2007, he has been a part-time professor in the city of Medellín and, recently this year, he earned the Master in Humanities. In 2004, he was invited as a professor to the Winter School of the Canadian Labor Congress and, the same year, he participated in the First Human Rights Symposium in the city of Sao Paulo. In 2005, he was co-author of the book Trade Unions and New Social Movements for the Latin American Council of Human Rights. Additionally, between 2008 and 2010, he was General Coordinator of Campaña Colombiana por Trabajo Decente.

Rosado Duque continues to advocate for human rights. He is the Director of Public Communications at Escuela Nacional Sindical (ENS), a Medellin-based NGO committed to the promotion of labor rights by strengthening Colombian trade unions. Through his work, he seeks to expand the presence of the trade unions and the ENS’ points of view within the public debate about the labor agenda in Colombia.

When reflecting on the benefits of HRAP, Rosado Duque points out how it allowed him to “know about and feel part of a global struggle, the struggle for defending human rights”. He asserts, “HRAP gave me the opportunity to live in New York City, attend one of the best universities in the world and get in contact with multiple organizations and human rights initiatives in North America and around the globe.”

—Article composed by Marta Garnelo Caamano, ISHR Intern, June 2011