Human rights in action.
Human rights offer a powerful global framework to guide our collective conversation about how we interact and live together in society. Our governments have human rights obligations:
to respect human rights (i.e. refrain from causing any human rights violation themselves through action or inaction);
to protect human rights (i.e. prevent third parties, such as corporations, from causing or contributing to human rights abuses);
to fulfil human rights (i.e. take necessary legislative, administrative, budgetary and other measures to make sure we can all enjoy these rights in practice); and
to seek and provide international assistance and cooperation in the realisation of human rights.
I work with people around the world to use the human rights framework to make positive differences in their lives and to evolve our collective sense-making and decision-making to support the flourishing of people and planet.
My main areas of focus include non-discrimination and equality, corporate accountability, connecting human rights and ecological justice, economic policy and human rights-based approaches to health, housing, education, food, disaster risk reduction and other issues.
Human rights strategies
Global advocacy
Supporting lawyers, NGOs and communities to advance coherent advocacy strategies to address global challenges. For example:
facilitating the collective development and implementation of multi-year global projects to transform systems and structures through economic, social and cultural rights frameworks - led by the affected communities, social movements and allies
designing and delivering participatory capacity building and strategy workshops in more than 20 countries, to support shared analysis of global challenges and to develop collective, transformative action
integrating practical approaches to non-discrimination and substantive equality across human rights networks and social justice fellowship programs
Research and analysis
Undertaking research, analysis and writing to share compelling arguments with diverse audiences. For example:
furthering an understanding of the converging fields of human rights, disasters and climate justice, through global-first guidance for governments on a human rights-based approach to disaster risk reduction
progressing a child rights approach to flourishing lives, including as related to early childhood care and education, the right to a healthy environment, education and technology and workshops and strategic litigation on the right to education
supporting robust public services and a just transition, including through writing UN guidance on social protection, taxation and human rights-based economies
strengthening corporate accountability through feminist approaches, the corporate capture framework, international treaty negotiations and collective submissions to UN and other bodies
Strategic litigation
Guiding strategic litigation to achieve progressive jurisprudence and prevent similar violations from happening in the future, as part of wider advocacy strategies. For example:
leading civil society third party interventions before UN treaty bodies, regional human rights systems and national courts
working with lawyers and communities around the world to achieve landmark jurisprudence related to health, education, housing, disaster response, social security and other systems, structures and challenges
