Norma Ledezma began her career as a human rights defender after her daughter Paloma disappeared and was later found murdered in Chihuahua, Mexico in 2002. Since then, Norma has dedicated herself to seeking justice for the families and victims of feminicide, disappearance and human trafficking in Mexico. She is one of the founders and director of Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas, a local organization that offers legal counsel and support to ongoing cases.
Norma has supported over 200 investigations into cases of feminicide and disappearances, on behalf of both male and female victims. As a party in the case over her daughter’s murder, which was brought before the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights, Norma is responsible for the creation of a Special Prosecutor office for Women Victims of Violence in her native state of Chihuahua.
Norma Ledezma was one of the three finalists for this year's Martin Ennals Award, and her visit to Norway was organized in collaboration with the Martin Ennals Foundation. During her visit, she met with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amnesty International Norway, held a guest lecture at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and was also interviewed on live radio at Radio Latin-Amerika. Listen to the interview (only in Spanish) here:
The Norwegian Human Rights Fund is glad to have hosted such an inspiring and strong human rights defender. Norma keeps fighting against femicides, forced disappearances and human trafficking in a dangerous country for human rights defenders, although she faces death threats for her work. Learn more about Norma in this video: