José Francisco Calí Tzay (born 27 September 1961) is a

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n attorney and diplomat, and the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples since 2020.

Career

Francisco Cali was elected for four consecutive four-year terms to serve on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a UN

Treaty body In international law, a treaty body (or treaty-based body) is an internationally established body of independent experts that monitor how States party to a particular international legal instrument are implementing their obligations under it. D ...

, from 2004 to 2020. He was elected President of the Committee, and served a two year term in that capacity from 2014 to 2016. He was the first indigenous person elected to serve on a UN treaty body. In the government of Guatemala, Francisco Cali served in a number of positions including, starting in 2016, Ambassador to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(also accredited to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) and, from 2008 to 2013, Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a member of the faculty of the University of Arizona School of Law.

Work as special rapporteur

Francisco Cali assumed the post of UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2020, after the tenure of his predecessor,

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is a Filipino development consultant and an international indigenous activist of Kankana-ey Igorot ethnicity. As UN special rapporteur, she was tasked to investigate alleged violations of indigenous peoples rights and promo ...

, ended on April 30 of that year.https://www.indigenousvoice.com/en/hrc-appoints-jose-francisco-cali-tzai-a-new-special-rapporteur-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html HRC appoints Jose Francisco Cali Tzai a new Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples As UN special rapporteur, he is tasked to investigate alleged violations of indigenous peoples rights and promote the implementation of international standards concerning the rights of indigenous peoples. In this capacity, he and

David R. Boyd David Richard Boyd is a Canadian environmental lawyer, activist, and diplomat. He is United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment. Activism He supported the Escazu agreement. He supported a Jakarta Clean Air lawsuit. ...

urged Sweden in early 2022 not to award a license to British company

Beowulf Mining Beowulf Mining plc is a UK registered Nordic focused exploration and development company listed on the AIM in London and Spotlight in Sweden. The CEO is Kurt Budge. The company was formed in 1988 as Beowulf Gold. Through subsidiaries Jokkmokk I ...

for the iron-ore

Kallak mine The proposed Kallak mine is a, highly controversial, plan to exploit one of the largest unexploited iron ore deposits in Sweden. Background The mining of iron ore in Sweden is a huge industry and is centred mainly in northern Sweden. The coun ...

in the Gallok region, home of the indigenous Sámi people, saying the open-pit mine would endanger the protected ecosystem and reindeer migration.Johan Ahlander (10 February 2022)
UN advisers urge Sweden to stop mine in home of indigenous Sami
''

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''.

References

Guatemalan diplomats 1961 births Guatemalan Maya people Guatemalan officials of the United Nations 21st-century Guatemalan lawyers Kaqchikel people People from Chimaltenango Department 20th-century Guatemalan lawyers Living people {{Guatemala-law-bio-stub