Juan Méndez, director of the Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights the past five years, has been appointed United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide.
The action followed a pledge by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide by appointing an official to collect data and monitor any serious violations of human rights or international law that have a racial or ethnic dimension and could lead to genocide.
Méndez is a lawyer who was twice imprisoned in his native Argentina for political and professional activities. He stepped down from his law school appointment in May to begin a two-year leave of absence and serve as president of the International Centre for Transitional Justice.