Cecilia Medina
Encyclopedia
Cecilia Medina Quiroga is a Chile
an jurist
.
Cecilia Medina studied legal and social sciences at the University of Chile in Santiago and earned a doctorate in law at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands
.
From 1995 to 2002 she was a member of the United Nations
Human Rights Committee
, including a period as its chair in 1999-2000. While on the Human Rights Committee she authored its General Comment 28http://www.law.wits.ac.za/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom28.htm on the rights of men and women as set out in Article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
.
In 2004 she was elected to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
, serving as its vice president in 2007 and as its president for the 2008–09 period (the first time a woman has held the office). In 2004 she also became a member of the International Commission of Jurists
. In 2006 she was awarded the Gruber Prize for Women's Rights.
In December 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council
selected her for the group of independent experts assigned to investigate the November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident.http://www.jerusalemites.org/spanish/Copy%20of%20spanish/noticias/2006/diciembre2006/061.htm
She is a co-director, with José Zalaquett
, of the University of Chile's Human Rights Centre, where she organises a postgraduate course on women's rights
for practising lawyers.
She has also taught at Lund University
, the International Institute of Human Rights
, the University of Toronto
, the United Nations University for Peace, the University of Utrecht and Harvard University
, and has published extensively on human rights
issues.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
.
Cecilia Medina studied legal and social sciences at the University of Chile in Santiago and earned a doctorate in law at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
From 1995 to 2002 she was a member of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Human Rights Committee
Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets three times a year for four-week sessions to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by 162 UN member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,...
, including a period as its chair in 1999-2000. While on the Human Rights Committee she authored its General Comment 28http://www.law.wits.ac.za/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom28.htm on the rights of men and women as set out in Article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
.
In 2004 she was elected to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
, serving as its vice president in 2007 and as its president for the 2008–09 period (the first time a woman has held the office). In 2004 she also became a member of the International Commission of Jurists
International Commission of Jurists
The International Commission of Jurists is an international human rights non-governmental organization. The Commission itself is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists , including members of the senior judiciary in Australia, Canada, and South Africa and the former UN High Commissioner for Human...
. In 2006 she was awarded the Gruber Prize for Women's Rights.
In December 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
selected her for the group of independent experts assigned to investigate the November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident.http://www.jerusalemites.org/spanish/Copy%20of%20spanish/noticias/2006/diciembre2006/061.htm
She is a co-director, with José Zalaquett
José Zalaquett
José "Pepe" Zalaquett Daher is a Chilean lawyer, renowned for his work in the defence of human rights during the de facto regime that governed Chile under General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.-The coup d'état and the Pro Paz Committee:...
, of the University of Chile's Human Rights Centre, where she organises a postgraduate course on women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
for practising lawyers.
She has also taught at Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
, the International Institute of Human Rights
International Institute of Human Rights
The International Institute of Human Rights is an association under French local law based in Strasbourg, France...
, the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, the United Nations University for Peace, the University of Utrecht and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and has published extensively on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
issues.