Joie Chowdhury Suggested donation $10

The 2013 Óscar Romero Award will be given to Ms. Blanca Velázquez Díaz, a champion of worker rights and dignity in Mexico. The twelfth such award given by the Rothko Chapel since 1986, this award honors unsung heroes who work under extraordinary circumstances to advance human rights. The award is named after Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador, who was murdered on March 24, 1980 because of his opposition to violence and his courageous defense of the poor in his country. In order to highlight and contextualize Ms. Velázquez Díaz’s significant work, the Rothko Chapel will present several programs preceding the presentation of the Award.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to work under just and favorable conditions with fair pay. The United States has failed to recognize and respect these rights with dire consequences for workers both in the United States and worldwide. All too often, the most grievous violations of these rights impact low and no wage women workers. Joie Chowdhury, Co-Director of Human Right to Work with Dignity Program at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, will explore the issue of labor rights as human rights, and why women are so frequently denied these most basic rights. Ms. Chowdhury has a lifelong background in human rights advocacy, and previously worked at the Center for Economic and Social Rights, Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, and the European Academy Representing Office in Kosovo.