Taking a Stand

JUAN MENDEZ UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Previously, he served as the first Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the Prevention of Genocide and is the former president of the International Center for Transitional Justice. He spent 15 years at Human Rights Watch, then served as executive director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in Costa Rica and was president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States. He is currently a visiting professor of Law at Washington College of Law. He lives in New York City, USA. MARJORY WENTWORTH Pushcart Prize-nominated poet whose has worked extensively in human rights for organizations such as the UN High Commission for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland; The Whole World Institute of Boston; and Church World Service in New York. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

• 1. Detention 2. Torture 3. Disappearances 4. Immigration 5. Solidarity 6. Law 7. War 8. Accountability 9. Justice 10.Genocide 11. Conclusion Postscript

'Mendez's testimony is not only a personal history of someone who has devoted his life to defend human dignity but also a thoughtful perspective on the evolution of the human rights idea.' -Torture, Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture