Leopoldo Maldonado Gutiérrez is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, a mandate he assumed on 1 August 2026.

A Mexican lawyer with nearly 20 years of experience, he specializes in freedom of expression, media freedom, digital rights, access to information, and the protection of journalists and human rights defenders. Before his appointment as Special Rapporteur, he served as Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America. He previously worked at the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center and served on the Governing Board of Mexico’s Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.

He has extensive experience in international human rights advocacy, as well as in research and policy discussions on digital governance, artificial intelligence, freedom of expression, and democratic governance.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-freedom-of-opinion-and-expression