Sonia Margarita Viñerta
Sonia Margarita Viñerta is a woman human rights defender, with 14 years of experience in defending labour rights, in particular, promoting the rights of women and the working class in El Salvador.
Currently, she holds the position of General Secretary of the Unión Sindical de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores del Instituto Salvadoreño para el Desarrollo de la Mujer (Trade Union of Workers of the Salvadorean Institute for the Development of Women). She also serves as Secretary of the Organisation for the Trade Union Federation of the Unión Nacional para la Defensa de la Clase Trabajadora (National Union for the Defence of the Working Class). The organisation defends the social and economic rights of workers, speaking out when these rights are violated. She is also Secretary of Organisation and Statistics for the Confederación Nacional de Trabajadores Salvadoreños (National Confederation of Salvadorean Workers).
The woman human rights defender is an active member of the Movimiento por la Defensa de los Derechos de la Clase Trabajadora (Movement for the Defence of Working Class Rights) and the Coordinadora Nacional para la Defensa de la Salud del Pueblo Salvadoreño (National Coordinator for the Defence of the Health of the Salvadorean People). These movements comprise of dozens of organisations that advocate for social justice and access to healthcare in El Salvador.
The human rights defender community is regularly subjected to campaigns of defamation - they are labeled as 'traitors of the nation', 'terrorists' and 'subversive'. This tactic employed by the authorities is designed to discredit and undermine the work of human rights defenders by isolating and marginalising them, making them a vulnerable target for abuse. Community leaders and environmental activists who are opposed to large-scale mining projects face death threats and violence.
