Juan Mendez

Juan E Méndez is a visiting professor of law at the American University, Washington College of Law, and the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. He was an adviser on crime prevention to the prosecutor, International Criminal Court in 2009 and 2010. He is also co-chair of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association. A native of Argentina, Mr Méndez has dedicated his legal career to the defence of human rights and has a long and distinguished record of advocacy throughout the Americas. As a result of his involvement in representing political prisoners, the Argentinean military dictatorship arrested him and subjected him to torture and administrative detention for more than a year