World-renowned human rights lawyer Professor Juan Méndez opens international policing conference

In a powerful and inspiring address, Professor Juan Méndez, distinguished human rights lawyer and advocate, opened an international conference hosted by the University’s Centre for Policing Research, emphasizing the critical need for commitment to upholding human rights worldwide.  

Professor Juan Méndez has dedicated his legal career to the defence of human rights, he was the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and led the development of the internationally recognised Méndez Principles on Effective investigative Interviewing and Information Gathering, which was the topic of the conference.  

The Méndez Principles are a set of recommendations outlining international effective practice for investigations designed to remove torture, abuse, and other forms of coercion from interviews and interrogations conducted by police, military or other security sectors.   Based on science, law, and ethics, the principles propose a concrete alternative to interrogation methods that rely on coercion to extract confessions. They improve the results of investigations, fully respect human rights and enhance trust in the authorities.  

The conference that took place in November 2023, focused its topics on the latest research and effective practices on the single global standard of Méndez principles.  

Image L to R: Dr Martin O’Neil, Professor Juan Méndez’s wife, Professor Juan Méndez, Director of the School of Policing Dr Tara Dickens and Andrew Carpenter