His Excellency Ambassador David Fernández Puyana is the Permanent Observer of the United Nations University for Peace to the United Nations (Vienna), having presented his credentials to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Ghada Waly, on 18 September. In addition to his role in Vienna, Mr. Fernández Puyana also serves as the Ambassador and Permanent Observer of the United Nations University for Peace to UNESCO in Paris and the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Fernández Puyana has held numerous key positions in diplomacy and international relations. He has been a lecturer at Shanghai University, Coordinator of the UNESCO "Peace Research" program from 2015 to 2017, and an adviser at the UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva. He has also worked as a legal and diplomatic adviser at the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UN in Geneva, and as Assistant to the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the UN Intergovernmental Open Ended Working Group on the Right to Peace (2013-2015). His work with global organizations includes collaborations with Religions for Peace, Finn Church Aid, UNESCO Etxea, and the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities, among others.

Mr. Fernández Puyana holds a Doctorate in Law with European Mention from the University of Pompeu Fabra, Spain, and an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Essex, UK. He also holds a Master's in Human Rights Protection from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and a Master's in International Relations from the University of Pompeu Fabra. He is also the co-founder of the UNESCO Chair on Peace, Solidarity, and Intercultural Dialogue at the University Abat Oliba CEU in Spain.