Prior to joining the ICTJ, Mariclaire Acosta served as special adviser to the secretary general of the OAS on civil society affairs and as deputy secretary for human rights and democracy at the Mexico Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before that she served as special ambassador for human rights and democracy at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as adviser to the Social Convergence Working Group for Civil Organizations, Political Coordinating Office and Transition team for President Vicente Fox. Her involvement with human rights encompasses a wide spectrum of non-profit, public, and private activities. Ms. Acosta is a founding member and former president of the Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos (Non-profit Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights), a founding member and former executive director of the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos (Mexican Human Rights Academy), and served as chairperson of the Mexican section of Amnesty International.