José Francisco Calí Tzay
José Francisco Calí Tzay (born 27 September 1961) is a Guatemalan lawyer and diplomat.

He assumed the post of UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2020, after the tenure of his predecessor, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, ended on April 30 of that year. As UN special rapporteur, he is tasked to investigate alleged violations of indigenous peoples rights and promote the implementation of international standards concerning the rights of indigenous peoples. In this capacity, he and David R. Boyd urged Sweden in early 2022 not to award a license to British company Beowulf Mining for the iron-ore Kallak mine in the Gallok region, home of the indigenous Sámi people, saying the open-pit mine would endanger the protected ecosystem and reindeer migration.

Prior to becoming the Special Rapporteur, Francisco Cali was elected for four consecutive four-year terms to serve on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a UN Treaty body, from 2004 to 2020.  He was elected President of the Committee, and served a two year term in that capacity from 2014 to 2016.  He was the first indigenous person elected to serve on a UN treaty body.

In the government of Guatemala, Francisco Cali served in a number of positions including, starting in 2016, Ambassador to Germany (also accredited to Poland and Ukraine) and, from 2008 to 2013, Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He is a member of the faculty of the University of Arizona School of Law.

References

Guatemalan diplomats
1961 births
Guatemalan Maya people
Guatemalan officials of the United Nations
21st-century Guatemalan lawyers
Kaqchikel
People from Chimaltenango Department
20th-century Guatemalan lawyers
Living people