José Luis Caballero Ochoa is Elected as New IACHR Commissioner

September 5, 2023

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is pleased to announce that the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) elected José Luis Caballero Ochoa as Commissioner. The Commission takes this opportunity to welcome him and wish him well as a member of the IACHR Plenary.

Commissioner Caballero Ochoa, a Mexican national, holds a bachelor's, a master's, and a doctorate degree in law. For 25 years, he has been researcher at the Law Department of the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, where he was coordinator of the master's degree in human rights (2007–2011), attorney for university rights (2014–2015), and director (2015–2021). He has been a member of the National System of Researchers of the National Council of Science, Humanities, and Technology of Mexico since 2009.

His perspective as a researcher has been reflected in a significant body of written work, including nearly one hundred book chapters and articles in professional journals. As well as books published by top international legal publishers.

Since 2021, he has been a member of the International Commission of Jurists. He has participated in technical and civic councils that define lines of action for public institutions regarding the respect, guarantee, and promotion of human rights. His career has combined teaching, research, and technical assistance with a view to influencing the transformation of public institutions, regulatory frameworks, and constitutional interpretation from a human rights perspective.

Commissioner José Luis Caballero's term of office expires on December 31, 2025. The State of Mexico put forward his candidacy in July following the resignation of Joel Hernández García, who left the post of Commissioner in his second term after being appointed Subsecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A principal, autonomous body of the OAS, the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 211/23

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