The GoodElectronics Network is pleased to announce that Alejandro González has been appointed as new Coordinator. We welcome Alejandro as the new Coordinator and his commitment to ensuring a global electronics industry characterized by compliance with the highest international human rights and sustainability standards and where labor rights and environmental norms are respected throughout the entire production cycle.
The GoodElectronics Network is pleased to announce that Alejandro González has been appointed as new Coordinator. We welcome Alejandro as the new Coordinator and his commitment to ensuring a global electronics industry characterized by compliance with the highest international human rights and sustainability standards and where labor rights and environmental norms are respected throughout the entire production cycle.
Alejandro has extensive experience in strategic corporate research, capacity building and advocacy in Mexico, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Argentina and Colombia, having practiced in the non-profit sector as well as in law and accounting firms, which will be valuable and directly relevant to achieving the GoodElectronics Network's mission and goals.
Alejandro graduated from law school in the University of Monterrey, Mexico and also concluded a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International and Comparative Private Law at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
He previously worked as a Business and Human Rights expert and senior researcher at the Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research (PODER), a non-governmental, non-profit organization whose mission is to improve corporate transparency and accountability in Latin America and to strengthen civil society stakeholders of corporations as long-term accountability guarantors. For over two years, he coordinated an ex-ante, community-driven human rights impact assessment concerning a mining project in a rural area in Mexico where he worked closely with the community, government and company representatives.
As part of his work experience, he has consolidated his advocacy skills through authoring articles on different topics (i.e. human rights due diligence, meaningful stakeholder engagement, strategic corporate research, power mapping, among others), speaking at different events, hosting workshops, trainings and representing his previous organizations in different fora (i.e. the ESCR-Net Peoples' Forum on Human Rights and Business, UN Forum on Business and Human Rights as well as at national events).
In June 2015, he attended the Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Program hosted by the International Service for Human Rights, which provided him the opportunity to directly engage in lobbying and advocacy activities at the United Nations (Human Rights Council and Special Procedures) as well as building a network of different NGOs, government officials, research institutions, and business representatives.
In previous positions, he gained extensive relevant international experience. In Colombia, he worked with the Project for International Solidarity and Accompaniment in Colombia (PASO) on the promotion and protection of the rights of trade unionists and workers through accompaniment and international observation. He also worked as a protection officer for Peace Brigades International (PBI) and Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), where he accompanied human rights defenders and communities at risk due to their legitimate work and conducted extensive desk and field research, including documentation of human rights violations, as a basis for elaborating risk and contextual analysis at a local, regional and national level.
Before joining PBI, Alejandro was a legal intern for the Buenos Aires office of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), where he gained in-depth knowledge of the Inter-American human rights protective system and of human rights issues faced by South American countries. Prior to CEJIL he volunteered at the Zanzibar Legal Services Centre in Tanzania, an NGO that provides legal services to disadvantaged sections of society.
Moreover, Alejandro has worked in several law firms and accounting firms in Mexico and the Netherlands.
After a transition period, Alejandro will gradually replace Pauline Overeem who will continue working as a researcher with SOMO focusing on the electronics, textiles and garments sectors. We would like to thank Pauline for her great work coordinating the GoodElectronics network and we wish her every success in her future role.
