NEW PERMANENT OBSERVER OF THE UNIVERSITY FOR PEACE PRESENTS LETTER OF NOMINATION TO THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT GENEVA

David Fernandez Puyana, the new Permanent Observer of the University for Peace to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented his letter of nomination to Michael Møller, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Fernandez Puyana, a Spanish national, served as the Project Coordinator of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Liaison Office in Geneva since 2015, and between 2013 and 2015, he served as the senior legal advisor to the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office at Geneva and a legal assistant to the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Open-Ended Working Group on the Right to Peace. He has also worked in the Human Rights Office of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Spain.

Mr. Fernandez Puyana has extensive experience working with different civil society organizations. He is the co-founder of several think-tanks, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Chair on Peace, Solidarity and Intercultural Dialogue at the University Abat Oliba CEU in Spain, and the International Association for Peace, and he advises the foundation ‘Peace without Borders’.

Mr. Fernandez Puyana holds a Ph.D in law from the University of Pompeu Fabra and he specialized in human rights law at the Universities of Essex and Alcala de Henares. He also studied philosophy and education science at the University of Barcelona. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the “Peace Human Rights Governance” of the Padova University Human Rights Centre and, since 2017, has been an Associate Fellow at the World Academy of Arts and Science. Born in Barcelona, Spain, he is married and has three children.


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CR18.026E