Raúl Molina-Mejía
Raúl Molina-Mejía is an Adjunct Associate Professor of History at Long Island University and has had a varied career as a professor, researcher, adviser, human rights advocate, and administrator. He teaches courses at LIU in Latin American History and World Civilizations, and also teaches courses on Human Rights, Sustainable Development, and NGOs at New York University, School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Molina-Mejía has a graduate degree from the School of Engineering, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC), Guatemala and conducted post-university studies in Education for University Professors (USAC, Guatemala) and in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Mexico D.F., and Federal Republic of Germany. Molina-Mejía was elected Dean of the School of Engineering, USAC, Guatemala (1976-1980) and in 1980 he became Acting President of the university. In 1980 he was forced to go into exile due to the military dictatorship in Guatemala. He was a visiting professor at the University of Panama (Panama, 1981-82) and the Catholic University of America (Washington D.C., 1983-1986) and a visiting scholar at Columbia University (New York, 2000). For many years he was also Coordinator of the National University of Guatemala's Truth Commission (1998-99); adviser to human rights organizations in Central America including CODEHUCA, a federation of human rights NGO's in Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, and CONADEHGUA, a federation of human rights organizations in Guatemala (1985-95). In particular, he was a founding member of Representación Unitaria de la Oposición Guatemalteca (RUOG) in 1982, a political and diplom atic team that presented the case of Guatemala to all important international forums on human rights, particularly the UN General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights (1982-1998).
Publications
"The right of Guatemalans abroad to elect and be elected," presented at the Seminar organized by the National Congress of Guatemala, December 2004, and at the Inter-Institutional Meeting convened by Guatemala's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February 2005.
"Guatemala: Turning back the clock," Report on the Americas, Vol. XXXVI, No.6 (May-June 2003): 8-11.
"Forced and involuntary disappearances in countries under repression," presented at the International Conference on the Missing organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, February 19-21, 2003.
"Indigenous Rights within the United Nations," lecture and paper for the Office of the Ombudsman in Honduras. Tegucigalpa, July 2002.
Quote
"If we are serious about achieving positive change in society, which is an obligation for us educators, we should make sure to intensely promote positive change in all environments, large or small, professional or personal, in which we become involved."