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.
(October 2004)
