Mehdi Benchelah is a senior project officer at UNESCO and is coordinating the Rule of Law, Media and Elections team within the Section for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists. He leads the Judges’ Initiative, a global strategy for the UN work with judicial systems on freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists by fostering strategic partnerships with Regional Human Rights Courts, Supreme Courts, Judicial Training Institutes and Prosecutors’ Offices across the world, as well as the implementation of specialized trainings for the judiciary on these issues. He also coordinates the implementation of UNESCO’s Programme for Security Forces, an initiative to train law enforcement officers on human rights, freedom of expression and safety of journalists’ related issues, as well as building police-media relations.

At the intersection of these two initiatives, he is also in charge of the Media and Elections programme to promote information integrity, tackle mis/disinformation and uphold the rule of law during election periods while respecting international standards on freedom of expression. Prior to joining UNESCO, Mehdi worked for a decade as a freelance reporter covering international affairs and conflicts in the Arab region, Africa and Latin America.