Claudia Paz y Paz

Claudia Paz y Paz is the new Director of the Mexico and Central America Program Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL).Prior to joining CEJIL’s team, Claudia was the first woman to hold office as Guatemala’s attorney General where she believed in the rule of law as a force that could strengthen society through the pillars of peace, justice and equality. As the first Guatemala law enforcement office to pursue high-ranking combatants of the civil war for war crimes, she succeeded in the conviction of high-ranking members of the military and of the former President Efrain Rios Montt for crimes against humanity. Additionally, Claudia formed part of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) tasked with investigating the disappearance of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico; as well as a second iteration of the GIEI, which was assigned with investigating the violence that took place in Nicaragua in the wake of the April 18th protests. Claudia has received multiple awards and recognition. In 2012, Forbes magazine included her in the list of top 5 most powerful women in the world and in 2013 she was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize.