20 April, 2020

By David Donat Cattin

On 19 April 2020, Dr. Felipe Michelini passed away in his hometown Montevideo, Uruguay, due to complications following a tragic domestic accident that occurred on 7 April.

Felipe Michelini was an extraordinary human rights advocate, a leader in Uruguay and within the International Community, and an incredibly generous and enlightened scholar and politician, who will be missed by all those who had the privilege to work with him. Felipe’s unique leadership style sought to empower his colleagues and peers, embodying them with trust and optimism, which resulted in multiplied teams of motivated individuals whose efforts –more often than not– succeeded in reaching a common goal, always related to justice, accountability and truth.

I will try to honor Felipe’s immense legacy by recalling some of his contributions to the work of our organization, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), of which he has been the most instrumental and credible voice over the last two decades in the critical campaign to put an end to impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern.