“Human rights often do not reach the international agenda, but they should,” said Claudia Fuentes Julio as she takes up her new role as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. “I love challenges. They bring passion to my work.”

A former diplomat with more than two decades of experience in international relations, multilateral diplomacy and human rights, Fuentes Julio brings to the position a deep commitment to advancing human rights and strengthening cooperation among States, civil society and other actors to this end.

“One priority is to show that multilateralism works, that it is the way forward, and that States, NGOs and other actors can work together to build a better future with human rights at the centre of our priorities,” Fuentes Julio said. 

One of her greatest motivations in her work is the resilience of people who have suffered human rights abuses and her determination to continue working for them. For Fuentes Julio, the professional commitment is also personal. Born in Chile, she draws on her country’s history of human rights violations and the lasting impact those violations have had on generations of families.

"Chile suffered under a brutal dictatorship,” Fuentes Julio said. “Many people died. Others were forced into exile or subjected to torture. I saw firsthand the power that regime held over people's lives — and I saw families searching for their loved ones for twenty years, thirty years, even fifty years now, and still searching today. That's a powerful reminder to me: we owe it to those victims to keep working for them, every single day."

As she begins her new role, Fuentes Julio believes that the challenges facing human rights require renewed cooperation and collective action. She noted that while multilateralism has been tested, it has also demonstrated its ability to bring actors together to address global challenges and human rights crises.

“We need to make sure that each one of us is working in tandem, building synergies, coordinating better and doing our work, especially on the ground, in a way that keeps us focused on the same goal: protecting people.”

The Assistant Secretary-General is the head of the UN Human Rights Office in New York, advising and representing the UN High Commissioner Volker Türk at the UN Headquarters. As such, strengthening the cooperation between the UN Human Rights Office and the wider UN system is also one of her top priorities.

Before joining the UN, she served as Chile’s Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva. She also taught at universities in Brazil, Chile and the United States.

In her new role, she will continue to advocate for human rights protection and promote collaboration across the international community, with the goal of ensuring that human rights remain at the centre of global action.

“I am a people’s person. I really do believe we should all work together,” she said against the backdrop of the iconic UN Headquarters building in New York. “It’s good to be here. I have a great responsibility because of the enormous challenges that we face and I’m ready to take on that responsibility.”