João Clemente Baena Soares (born 14 May 1931) is a Brazilian diplomat.
Soares was born in Belém. He working at the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations for 31 years before being elected to serve as Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1984 to 1994.[1][2]
Between 1997 and 2006, he was a member of the United Nations International Law Commission. On 4 November 2003 UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed him to sit on the High Level Threat Panel.
On September 1, 2006, he was appointed to the United Nations Human Rights Council's High-Level Commission of Inquiry charged with probing allegations that Israel systematically targeted and killed Lebanese civilians during the 2006 Lebanon War.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alejandro Orfila |
Secretary General of the Organization of American States 1984-1994 |
Succeeded by César Gaviria |