Ambassador Joel Hernández García
Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Mexico Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ambassador Joel Hernández García, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, has dedicated his professional practice to international law, international organizations, litigation and international negotiation. He holds a Law Degree from the Faculty of Law of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a Master’s Degree in International Law from New York University’s School of Law. He joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1992 and rose to the rank of ambassador in 2008.
Within the Mexican Foreign Service, he’s held various positions among which stand out: President of the Personnel Commission of the Mexican Foreign Service (2013-2016), Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2005-2011), Director General for the United Nations Organization (2005 and 2015); Alternate Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office in Vienna (1999-2001)and Consul of Mexico in New York (1995-1999).
He has served as Mexico’s negotiator in various treaties including the Agreement for the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against the trafficking of migrants and human trafficking, as well as the United Nations Convention
against Corruption.
In June 2014, Ambassador Hernández was elected by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States as a member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee. In 2018, he was elected for the first time as commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), of which he served as president in 2020 and was subsequently re-elected for the period 2022-2025. He concluded his duties on August 3, 2023 to rejoin the Mexican Foreign Service and assume his current position as Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights."