Angelo Cardona (born 5 January 1997) is a Colombian social entrepreneur, peace and human rights activist. He is a representative of Latin America to the

International Peace Bureau The International Peace Bureau (IPB; ), founded in 1891, is one of the world's oldest international peace federations. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for acting "as a link between the peace societies of the various ...

. Co-founder and President of the Ibero-American Alliance for Peace and ambassador of Colombia to the Youth Assembly at the United Nations. In 2021, he won The Diana Award.

Career

Cardona has denounced the

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

that his country is experiencing in different international decision-making scenarios such as the

United Nations Headquarters The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on of grounds in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It borders First Avenue (Manhattan), First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd ...

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

German Parliament The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, Argentina Congress and Colombian Congress. He served as peace ambassador of the Global Peace Chain from 2020 to 2022, and in 2018 was invited as a speaker by the

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

group in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, to share his knowledge about the implementation of the peace agreement in Colombia. He is part of the ''Youth for Disarmament'' initiative of the

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs ( UNODA, ) is an Office of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, part of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to reform the UN as ...

and was among the winners of the '75 words for disarmament' launched by the United Nations to commemorate the 75 years of its foundation and the atomic bombings of

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

and

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. In 2016, at age 19, he became a member of the

, and co-founded the

Youth Network (IPBYN). In 2019, Cardona was appointed Council member of the

. Cardona is also part of the international Steering Group for the Global Campaign on Military Spending (GCOMS). As part of the campaign in 2020, together with 28 Colombian members of Congress, he proposed the transfer of 1 billion Colombian pesos from military purposes to the health sector. The Colombian Ministry of Defense agreed to 10 percent of that, moving 100 million pesos (or US$25 million). In 2021, he was supported by 33 Colombian members of congress who demanded the President of Colombia,

Iván Duque Iván Duque Márquez (; born 1 August 1976) is a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the president of Colombia from 2018 to 2022. He was elected as the candidate from the Democratic Centre Party in the 2018 Colombian presidential ...

, allocate 1 billion pesos from the defense sector to the health sector. Cardona also requested the Government to refrain from purchasing 24

warplanes A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on support roles: * Combat aircraft, ...

that would cost $4.5 million. According to him, with that money, the government could purchase at least 300,000 vaccines against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and strengthen the health system in the country. On May 4, 2021, amid violent protests unleashed in Colombia as a result of the proposal for a new

tax reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxati ...

. The

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, José Manuel Restrepo, announced that the Government will comply with the request to not purchase the warplanes.

Awards and honors

* 2019, Cardona along with Asha de Vos, were the co-recipients of the 21st Century Icon Awards - Inspirational Icon Award *2020, 75 Words for Disarmament Award of the

. *2021, Award in honour of the late

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

- The Diana Award. *2021, The Youth Leadership Award at the Napolitan Victory Awards. *2021, The Diana Legacy Award.

References

External links

Official website
* Angelo Cardon
Why is there no peace?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardona, Angelo Colombian activists Living people 1997 births Colombian human rights activists Colombian pacifists

Career

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links