Guest Speaker: Frank La Rue
The U.N. Human Rights Council appointed Frank La Rue to the post of special rapporteur in March 2008. The position focuses on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Earlier this year, the Council renewed his mandate until 2014.
Mr. La Rue has been involved in the promotion of human rights for 25 years. He is the founder and president of the Center for Legal Action for Human Rights (CALDH) in his native Guatemala. CALDH is a renowned NGO that has brought pioneering human rights cases in Guatemalan courts as well as to the Inter-American Human Rights System. Mr. La Rue has held a number of other important posts as well. He served as presidential commissioner for human rights in Guatemala, as a human rights adviser to the minister of foreign affairs, and as president of the governing board of the Centro-American Institute of Social Democracy Studies.
He holds a B.A. in legal and social studies from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, and a post-graduate degree in U.S. foreign policy from Johns Hopkins University. In 2004, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.