During his stay at Bonavero he advocated in favor of wide adoption of the Principles on Effective Interviews in Investigations and Other Information Gathering, a non-binding instrument of international law designed to offer a constructive alternative to the brutality of torture during interrogation of suspects, witnesses and victims.  The Principles have been mentioned favorably in two UN General Assembly resolutions, in one Resolution of the AG of the Organization of American States, and in numerous pronouncements of treaty bodies. Moreover he also was invited to Chair a Commission of Inquiry into serious incidents of inter-communal violence that took place in the city of Leicester, UK, between August 29 and September 19 of 2022.  The Commission consists of two UK-based social scientists, one UK-based community organizer (all three of Indian origin), a former colleague of mine at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and Prof. Mendez. The mandate is to establish the facts of the several acts of violence between Hindu and Muslim communities of Indian origin that had previously lived together in harmony in Leicester, a city where they are a substantial part of the population.

Finally, he also researched, in the course of his fellowship he researched, wrote and edited the following publications:

  • Prologue to edited book on Business and Human Rights, Adalberto Mendez, ed., Mexico; forthcoming;
  • Prologue to book on Impunity after Northern Ireland conflict, Gisle Kvanvig et al, eds., Oslo, forthcoming;
  • Prologue (with Mark Thomson) Interviewing and Interrogation: A Review of Research and Practices since WWII, Gavin Oxburgh, Trond Myklebust, Mark Fallon and Maria Hartwig, eds., Oslo: TOAEP, 2024.
  • Principles on Effective Investigative Interviews: A New Instrument of International Law (with Matthew Ilsley), in Human Rights Brief, Vol. 27, Washington College of Law, forthcoming.
Juan Mendez
Prof. Juan Mendez is a Faculty Board Director at the Center