Honorary Chairman, GUDC
Ambassador Gallegos is Chairman of the Global UN Partnership for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies and President of the International Rehabilitation Foundation. The Congress of Ecuador has honored him twice, in 1999 for his work in Human Rights and for his leadership in the promotion and protection of Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ambassador Gallegos is also a recipient of the “Justice for All Disabilities Rights Award”.
He served as ambassador from Ecuador to the United States from 2005 until 2011. He has been Vice-president of the Commission of Human Rights, Geneva 1998; Vice-president of the Assembly of the member States of WIPO, Geneva 1997-99; Representative of GRULAC to the Diplomatic Committee; President of the II Main Commission of the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a New Act Of Adjustment of Netherlands, WIPO, Geneva 1999; Vice-president of the Programmatic Forum of the IDNDR, Geneva 1999; Vice-President of the Meeting of G-77, Morocco, 1999. He has also been Vice president of the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly; Facilitator for the “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, 2002; Facilitator for the “Strengthening of the United Nations”, 2002; Vice-president of the Executive Board of UNICEF, 2003; and Vice-president of the Open-Ended Working Group on Security Council Reform, 2004. Twice he has been President of the Political Committee of the Non Aligned Movement. He was the Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. He is, in a personal capacity, an expert member of the UN Committee against Torture and other Cruel and Inhuman Treatments.
Among the decorations that he has been honored with are: Bulgaria, 1989; France, 1990, Brazil, 1991; El Salvador, 1997; Guatemala, 1999; Spain, 2001; Guatemala, 2002; Brazil, 2002; Peru, 2002; He has received the “National Order of Merit” of Ecuador in 2002, and the “Honorato Vasquez Order” in 2007. He has also received Proclamations from the City Council of New York, the State Senate of New York and the House of Representatives of New York.
