Jan-Michael Simon appointed Chair of the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua

Max Planck Researcher to investigate alleged human rights violations

The German researcher Jan-Michael Simon has been assigned as Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua by the President of the UN Human Rights Council. With reference to Human Rights Council resolution 49/3 entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua”, Jan-Michael Simon is appointed for the three-person Group with the mandate to conduct thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Nicaragua since April 2018.

In addition to Jan-Michael Simon, Ángela Maria Buitrago (Colombia) and Alexandro Álvarez (Chile) have been appointed as the other experts. The President of the Human Rights Council, Federico Villegas, sought recommendations from various stakeholders and expressions of interest to find highly qualified and impartial candidates to fill these positions. The experts, who will serve in their personal capacities, are requested to submit a report to the Human Rights Council at its 52nd session in February-March 2023, during an interactive dialogue.

Legal scholar Jan-Michael Simon is senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany. His main research fields are human rights, transitional justice, criminal justice reforms and corruption. He regularly combines research with fieldwork and practice. He has over 25 years of experience in Latin America, having worked with international accountability mechanisms relating to human rights violations and impunity in Central America.  He has also provided legal expert opinions to international and national judicial bodies, including to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law is a leading European center for research in criminal law, criminology, and public security matters. The research conducted in our three departments (Criminal Law, Criminology, and Public Law) is comparative, international, and interdisciplinary. The Institute is part of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science – one of the world’s most distinguished and successful research organizations. The high level of its fundamental research is reflected not least in the 29 Nobel Prizes awarded to Max Planck scientists since the Society was founded in 1948.