Colombian judge named Global Jurist of the Year

The Center for International Human Rights (CIHR) at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law has awarded their 10th Global Jurist of the Year Award to Judge Belkis Florentina Izquierdo Torres – Aty Seikuinduwa from Colombia, for her visionary jurisprudence recognizing the rights of Indigenous communities and the environment.

Izquierdo Torres is a leader of the Arhuaco people, an Indigenous tribe from the north of Colombia. She is the first Indigenous woman to become an auxiliary judge of the Superior Council of Judicature. She now serves as president of the Truth Recognition Chamber within Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). The JEP is a transitional justice court that was designed to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for committing serious human rights violations during the armed conflict in Colombia from 1964 to 2016.

Izquierdo Torres will receive the honor during a ceremony at Northwestern Law on Wednesday, March 19.

The award will recognize her work with the JEP and its continued efforts to center Indigenous worldviews and voices, making sure that Indigenous communities receive adequate recognition and space in the transitional justice process. Judge Izquierdo Torres also emphasizes and recognizes the rights of nature in her work through the implementation of Earth-centered law and jurisprudence.

“Magistrate Izquierdo Torres is responsible for groundbreaking jurisprudence recognizing the rights of Indigenous communities, as well as the environment, during Colombia’s peace process,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, CIHR director and clinical professor of law. “Her vision and clarity are sure to inspire our law school community, as well as shifting perspectives.”

Izquierdo Torres has served as advisor to the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia, the Ministry of the Interior of Colombia, consultant to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and legal advisor to various public and private entities.

Past recipients of the CIHR’s Global Jurist Award include Judge Igor Tuleya of Poland; Hon. Miguel Angel Galvez of Guatemala; Judge Anisa Rasooli on behalf of all women judges in Afghanistan; Justice Dikgang Moseneke of the South African Constitutional Court; and Justice Shireen Avis Fisher of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.