Gretel Alexandra Mejía Bonifazi

Short Bio

Gretel Mejía Bonifazi is a PhD research fellow at the Human Rights Centre. She is a Guatemalan lawyer specialized in human rights. She holds an MA in Human Rights from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (2017) and a law degree from San Carlos University in Guatemala (2015). Before joining the Human Rights Centre, she worked as a research assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, where she focused on human rights and corruption in Latin America. Previously, she worked on a wide range of transitional justice, human rights and international criminal law issues at various organizations, such as the Syrian Archive, the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and the Nuremberg Human Rights Center (NMRZ).

Education

• 2015-2017: Master of Arts in Human Rights, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
• 2008-2015: Bachelor of Law and Social Sciences, Lawyer and Notary Public, San Carlos University Faculty of Law, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Professional Positions

• 09/2019 – ongoing: PhD research fellow, Human Rights Centre, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Ghent University,
  Belgium
• 09/2018 – 01/2019: Research Assistant, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law,
  Heidelberg/Berlin, Germany
• 01/2018 – 04/2018: Legal trainee, International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Nuremberg, Germany
• 04/2017 – 09/2017: Critical Legal Fellow in the International Crimes and Accountability Unit,  European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights – ECCHR- Berlin, Germany
• 09/2016 – 11/2016: Research Intern, Nuremberg Human Rights Center, Nuremberg, Germany
• 11/2013 – 06/2015: Legal consultant, Independent law practice, Guatemala City, Guatemala
• 05/2012 – 11/2012: Law Clerk, Family Court of the Municipality of Mixco, Guatemala
• 10/2011 – 04/2012: Legal intern, Guatemalan Chamber of Industry Dispute Resolution Centre, Guatemala
  City, Guatemala
• 01/2011 – 09/2011: Legal Intern, National Council of Protected Areas, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Featured Publications

• August 2018: The Molina Theissen case. An example of perseverance for victims of enforced disappearance worldwide’ Nuremberg Human Rights Center Blog
• July 2018: Combatiendo el silencio e impunidad en delitos de violencia sexual a través de alianzas feministas: un análisis del caso Sepur Zarco en Guatemala