Route To Human Rights in The Camino Primitivo, Spain

International Solidarity for Human Rights, Inc. (ISHRIGHTS) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes human rights education and outreach in a positive way, through the arts. ishrights.org

The “Route to Human Rights in the Primitive Way” (Camino Primitivo de Santiago) is a pioneering program in Europe. Since 2016 it has promoted the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights along the Primitive Way, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2015. International Solidarity for Human Rights advanced this initiative with the collaboration and support of Where is Asturias, with the aim of promoting fundamental human rights such as equality, freedom, respect, education, food and justice among pilgrims, travelers and citizens.

The route required the placement and unveiling of 30 bronze plaques, designed by the Spanish pop artist Eladio de Mora (dEmo), along the 320 kilometers (199 miles) of the Primitive Way, in the Principality of Asturias and the Autonomous Community of Galicia, the two regions the Primitive Way crosses.

Collaborating councils: the City Council of Oviedo; the Asturian municipalities of Grado, Salas, Tineo, Allande and Grandas de Salime; and the Galician municipalities of A Fonsagrada, Baleira, Castroverde, Lugo, Guntín, Melide, Arzúa, O Pino and Santiago de Compostela.

Every year, as autumn colors the hills of Asturias and Galicia in September and October, ISHR’s Directors, Elizabeth Sánchez Vegas and Devorah Sasha, return to the Primitive Way. They walk it with pilgrims from around the world who want to live the Camino while discovering the rights that unite us all.

Step by step, the Route comes alive: Elizabeth and Devorah share its message with everyone they meet and lovingly care for each of the 30 plaques, so every pilgrim who follows finds them shining and ready to inspire.

Would you like to join us on the Camino? For information, write to esv@ishrights.org.

On September 1, 2022, the chamber hall of the Príncipe Felipe Auditorium in Oviedo hosted the first inaugural event of the Route to Human Rights in the Primitive Way, Europe’s first human rights route, with a recital by the renowned international pianist Isabel Pérez Dobarro, who captivated the audience with her concert and her speech.

More than 300 people responded to the invitation: Oviedo City Council, authorities of the Principality of Asturias and the Xunta de Galicia, mayors and councilors of both regions, members of NGOs, business and cultural associations, and associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago. The event also featured the premiere of the Human Rights Anthem “Perfect World,” composed especially for the occasion by the internationally recognized Italian-Venezuelan musician Pablo Manavello and performed by the international singer Devorah Sasha.

The audience heard speeches by Elizabeth Sánchez Vegas, president of International Solidarity for Human Rights; the artist Eladio de Mora (dEmo), creator of the plaques; Benjamín Alba, a pilgrim among pilgrims; José Antonio Garmón Fidalgo, Director General of Public Governance, Transparency, Citizen Participation and the 2030 Agenda; and Begoña Panea, CEO of Where is Asturias. Alfredo Sánchez Vallina was the perfect master of ceremonies. Congratulations to the team of professionals at the Príncipe Felipe Auditorium, who handled every technical detail to perfection.

Source: The Jacobean Academy (Academia Xacobea). Translated by Devorah Sasha.

The International Solidarity for Human Rights Foundation presents a commemorative route in Santiago de Compostela that follows the Primitive Way. The Regional Minister of Culture, Román Rodríguez; the rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Antonio López; and the mayor of Santiago, Xosé Sánchez Bugallo, took part in the event organized by the Jacobean Academy of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.

The Camino de Santiago, with its thousand-year history and universal reach, was the setting chosen by the International Solidarity for Human Rights foundation for an initiative designed to champion the importance and enduring relevance of human rights. Over the preceding days, the organization’s leaders and a group of pilgrims from different countries traveled the Primitive Way, visiting the 30 commemorative plaques in the municipalities it crosses, as many as there are articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN almost 75 years ago.

That afternoon in Santiago de Compostela, the final stage of the Primitive Way, the Route to Human Rights in the Primitive Way was officially launched together with the Jacobean Academy. Presiding over the event, held in the Paraninfo of the University of Santiago de Compostela, were the Regional Minister of Culture, Education, Vocational Training and Universities, Román Rodríguez; the mayor of Santiago, Xosé Sánchez Bugallo; the rector of the University, Antonio López; the president of the Jacobean Academy, Xesús Palmou; the academy’s secretary, Ulises Bértolo; and the president of International Solidarity for Human Rights, Elizabeth Sánchez Vegas. The Human Rights Anthem “Perfect World” was presented and sung by the singer Devorah Sasha, founder and executive director of International Solidarity for Human Rights.

The Way of Saint James has become the largest religious and cultural pilgrimage route in the world, traveled every year by thousands of people of all origins, religions and races. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site on December 10, 1993, the 45th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a European Cultural Itinerary, known as “the Main Street of Europe,” and in 2004 the Prince of Asturias Foundation awarded it the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord as “a place of pilgrimage and encounter for people.” Over the centuries it has become a symbol of fraternity and the backbone of a European consciousness. The pilgrimage embodies many of the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including equality, liberty, freedom and fraternity.

Why the Primitive Way, of all the routes?

The Primitive Way is the original way: it is the origin of the Camino de Santiago. Likewise, the Universal Declaration is the original document in which the inalienable human rights of every person were established for the first time on a universal level, in 1948.

The Route to Human Rights in the Primitive Way is “a fascinating journey gestated over 1,200 years of history,” in which millions of pilgrims have, through the centuries, promoted “values inherent to the rights and freedoms of individuals, which are associated with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

The pilgrimage has long been seen as a journey of personal and spiritual growth in which people seek meaning and purpose in their lives. Along the way, pilgrims encounter diverse cultures, traditions and people, fostering empathy, understanding and respect for others. The Camino has also served as a platform for social justice, human dignity and equality: in the Middle Ages, hospitals and shelters were established along the route to assist and protect pilgrims, who were often vulnerable to disease, violence and poverty. In more recent times, it has also come to promote environmental sustainability, intercultural dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

The Camino, and the Primitive Way in particular, has received many accolades: it was the European Union’s first cultural itinerary, known as “the Street of Europe”; it received the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord; and in 2015 UNESCO added the Primitive Way to the World Heritage listing of the Camino de Santiago. The Route to Human Rights in the Primitive Way builds on this legacy of values and principles essential to human flourishing and dignity, and aims to make everyone who travels the Camino aware of the importance of human rights and their promotion.

After four years of development, and a global event that delayed its inauguration by two years, the first stage of the project has been completed: the Route to Human Rights in the Primitive Way is alive.

Certificates of authenticity were issued and signed by the artist, Eladio de Mora (dEmo), and by the ISHRIGHTS directors Elizabeth Sánchez Vegas and Devorah Sasha. The 30 certificates have been handed over to the custodians of each work of art along the Primitive Way.

Since 2016, alongside the development of the route, the ISHRIGHTS Foundation has given human rights workshops in schools along the route in Asturias and Galicia. As part of these programs, elementary school students on the Primitive Way created human rights-inspired stories, which ISHRIGHTS has edited and printed.