Antonio Palma López

Antonio Palma López

He/him/his

Disability, youth, and human rights advocate

Guatemala

Antonio Palma López is a Guatemalan disability rights leader amplifying youth and underrepresented voices across Latin America and global platforms. His advocacy began at 19, when he served as vice president of student and national disability organizations. By 24, he was driving regional change—reforming the RIADIS statutes, founding its Youth Network, and serving as Secretary of Human Rights and youth representative to the IDA. Over the past year, Antonio led youth advocacy at the Regional and Global Disability Summits and became the first young disabled person from the region to speak at the ECOSOC Youth Forum. He advises the UN on implementing its disability strategy and provides training across multiple agencies to make global inclusion more effective. As co-founder of Espacios Inclusivos, he works to embed disability inclusion throughout Latin America. His leadership has been widely recognized, including honors as a student leader (2019, 2021), an outstanding UN volunteer (2022), and an inspiring young person by the Congress of Guatemala (2023).