Juan E. Méndez (born December 11, 1944) is an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
lawyer, former
,
and
human rights activist
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...
known for his work on behalf of
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s.
Career
Méndez was born in
Lomas de Zamora
Lomas de Zamora is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located south of the City of Buenos Aires and within the metropolitan area of Greater Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Lomas de Zamora Partido and has a population of 111,897.
...
, on the outskirts of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.
In 1970, he received his law degree from Stella Maris University in
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
, Buenos Aires province.
["Juan E. Mendez"](_blank)
''Source Watch''
Early in his career, he became involved in representing political prisoners. As a result, he was arrested by the
Argentine military dictatorship
The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United Sta ...
and subjected to torture and administrative detention for 18 months. During this period,
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
adopted him as a "Prisoner of Conscience," and in 1977, he was expelled from the country and moved to the United States.
Subsequently, Mendez worked for the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...
, protecting the rights of migrant workers. In 1978, he joined the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under the Law in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and in 1982, he launched
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
's (HRW) Americas Program. He continued to work at Human Rights Watch for 15 years, becoming their general counsel in 1994.
He is also a visiting scholar at
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
Washington College of Law's Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is one of many specialized departments found within the American University Washington College of Law located in Washington, D.C. Created to promote practical approaches to issues involving Human ri ...
, a Professor of Human Rights Law in Residence at the Washington College of Law, and the Faculty Director of the Anti-Torture Initiative at the law school.
From 1996 to 1999, Mendez served as the Executive Director of the Inter-American Human Rights Institute, based in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
.
He then worked as a Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
in the United States from October 1999 to 2004.
In 2001, Mendez began working for the
International Center for Transitional Justice
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms.
ICTJ officially ope ...
(ICTJ), an international
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
NGO. He served as its president from 2004 to 2009 and now is its President Emeritus. From November 2010 to October 31, 2016, he was the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.
Mendez has taught
human rights law
International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...
at
Georgetown Law School
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and t ...
, the
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
School of Advanced International Studies, and the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
Masters Program in
International Human Rights Law
International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...
in the
UK.
Mendez is on the Steering Committee of
The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative
The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative is a rule of law research and advocacy project of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute. Started in 2008 by Professor Leila Nadya Sadat, the Initiative has as its goals the study of the need for a compre ...
, a rule of law project launched in 2008 by the
Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute
The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law, established in 2000 as the Institute for Global Legal Studies, serves as a center for instruction and research in international and comparative law.
Background
...
to study the need for a comprehensive convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, analyze the necessary elements of such a convention, and draft a proposed treaty. The proposed treaty is now being debated before the UN
International Law Commission
The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...
.
In December of 2021, the
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
appointed Mendez as a member of Racial Justice Body, a new mechanism to examine systemic racism and the excessive use of force against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement worldwide.
Mendez will be one of three members along with
Yvonne Mokgoro
Yvonne Mokgoro (born 19 October 1950) is a former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and wife to Job Mokgoro.
Career
Mokgoro was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela. Mokgoro is a board member of the Centre for Huma ...
of South Africa and Tracie L. Keesee of the United States.
Awards
He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Goler T. Butcher Medal from the American Society of International Law; a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...
(University of Quebec in Montreal); the "Monsignor Oscar A. Romero Award for Leadership in Service to Human Rights" by the
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...
; the "Jeanne and Joseph Sullivan Award" of the Heartland Alliance.; the Doctorate Honoris Causa from the
Universidad Nacional de La Plata
The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It has over 90, ...
, Argentina (National University of La Plata), June 10, 2013;
"Instituto de Derechos Humanos - UNLP"
''Instituto de Derechos Humanos - UNLP'' and the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award is awarded annually by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). It is awarded to those advancing the cause of human rights in the Americas. The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award commemo ...
from the Institute for Policy Studies
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American progressive think tank started in 1963 that is based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 2021 Tope Folarin was announced as new Executive Director. ...
in 2014.
See also
*Responsibility to protect
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P or RtoP) is a global political commitment which was endorsed by all member states of the United Nations at the 2005 World Summit in order to address its four key concerns to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic ...
References
External links
Announcement from the United Nations of his appointment
Interview on Democracy Now!
Speech to Swarthmore College on the Darfur conflict
Report of the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide: Visit to Darfur, Sudan (PDF)Juan Méndez: U.S. Should Address WikiLeaks’ Disclosures of Torture
- video interview by ''Democracy Now!
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Juan E.
1944 births
American University alumni
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Argentina
Argentine diplomats
20th-century Argentine lawyers
International law scholars
Living people
People from Lomas de Zamora
Argentine officials of the United Nations
United Nations Special Rapporteurs on torture
University of Notre Dame faculty
Notre Dame Law School faculty
Place of birth missing (living people)
Argentine prisoners and detainees
Argentine emigrants to the United States
21st-century Argentine lawyers