In this episode of On Human Rights, we speak with Yalda Bari, a human rights advocate and expert in women’s economic empowerment from Afghanistan. Yalda holds a Master’s in International Economics from the Berlin School of Economics and Law and brings over seven years of experience with organisations such as GIZ, ILO, and USAID, where she worked to…

Kaweh Kerami is a political scientist whose work bridges politics, (digital) media and human rights. He earned his PhD in Development Studies from SOAS University of London, where he investigated how power dynamics and competing interests shape political competition and cooperation in post-intervention Afghanistan (2001–2021). Drawing on comparativ…

Hafizullah Saeedi is an independent researcher and a human rights defender. He holds a Master of Arts in Global Studies from Leipzig University, Germany. He obtained a double degree in International and Comparative Politics from American University of Central Asia and Bard College-NYC, for his undergraduate studies.Hafizullah has a background in hu…

In this episode, we’re joined by Fatema D. Ahmadi, a proficient human rights advocate with over a decade of experience working on the frontlines of gender-based violence, human trafficking, and peace building in Afghanistan. Fatema's personal journey as a displaced person shaped her lifelong commitment to human rights and justice. Her work has been…

Dr. Atal Ahmadzai has been a dedicated advocate for environmental security and human rights. He earned his degree from Kabul University before pursuing further studies at Mahidol University in Thailand. His professional career includes working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), where he worked on human development initiatives in Af…

This podcast episode features a conversation sparked by a newly premiered 2025 film Rule Breakers, which follows Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team and their journey to challenge societal norms and push boundaries. Rule Breakers is a story of determination, defying limitations, and carving out space in science and technology despite the od…

Mark Gibney is the Carol Belk Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and the Affiliate Professor at RWI. In this episode, Professor Gibney challenges us to rethink how countries are held accountable — not just within their borders, but on a global scale.We’ll discuss his groundbr…

Ambassador Olof Skoog, since March 2024, has been the EU Special Representative for Human Rights. He is a Swedish diplomat with extensive experience represen­ting both Sweden and the European Union. Most recently he was EU Ambassador to the UN in New York. Last month, he was with us in Lund to deliver the 2024 annual Anna Lindh Lecture under the ti…

Ambassador Olof Skoog, EU Special Representative for Human Rights, delivered the 2024 annual Anna Lindh Lecture on 19 November on the theme of “The Strategy of Human Rights.” This podcast episode is a live recording of the lecture as it was delivered at Lund University Hall.By The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Maliha Shirzay-Research Fellow, RWI Afghanistan Programme in 2024 is collaborating with other research fellows to support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett on Human Rights in Afghanistan. More specifically, in this episode dedicated tshe shares insights from her research on investigating the rights of Afghan women, particularly …

Hamid A. Formuli is a human rights practitioner, former career diplomat and a Research Fellow with RWI's Afghanistan program in 2024. His tenure at the Afghan foreign service spans over 8 years, boasting an impactful career across various roles, starting from a consular associate, law and treaties officer to special aide to the deputy foreign minis…

Humaira Rasuli is an Afghan human rights lawyer, women empowerment activist and the Co-Founder and Director of Women for Justice Organization in Afghanistan (WJO). She has been with RWI in 2024 as a Research Fellow with the Afghanistan Program.In 2018, Humaira Rasuli co-founded Woman for Justice Organization (WJO) to better safeguard women’s rights…

Mitra Tanomand, Research Fellow with RWI Afghanistan Programme is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Global Development with a focus on Education in the UK. Her project is focusing on researching human rights issues in Afghanistan, focusing on girls’ education and “Unveiling the post-2021 Realities within Women’s Protection Shelters in Afghanistan: Navi…

Kobra Moradi is Research Fellow with RWI's Afghanistan Programme and in this episode is sharing insights from her research on Afghan communities access to information regarding the International Criminal Court investigation on the human rights violations in Afghanistan. Kobra Moradi is a lawyer with a focus on human rights and international law. Sh…

Haroun Rahimi is an affiliate associate professor at UW School of Law. Concurrently, Rahimi is an Associate Professor of Law and the chair of the Law Department at the American University of Afghanistan. Rahimi is also a Global Academy Scholar at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) and a Research Fellow at The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of H…

Anna Bruce, Senior Researcher at RWI, shares insights from her participation in the review of Sweden by the CRPD Committee and her work on Sweden's current implementation of the CRPD. -Work in progress version of book chapter in Swedish: Bruce, A, Funktionsrättskonventionen: Fördragskonform tolkning i norm(dis)harmoni, Lind, A-S, Thorburn Stern, R.…

Ehsan Qaane was a Research Fellow for the Afghanistan Programme in 2023. Prior to this, he worked with Afghanistan Analysts Network, a policy researcher organisation, as a political and legal affairs researcher (2012-2022) and as the country director (2017-2020). He is a member of and adviser to several human rights networks in Afghanistan, includi…

David Cingranelli is a Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University of the State University of New York. He also is the Co-director of the Binghamton University Human Rights Institute. He has written widely on human rights, democracy, governance, and labor rights. He is a champion of the quantitative, scientific study of human rights. He…

Mr. Vishal Prasad is the Campaign Director of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, a youth-led organization campaigning for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on climate change and human rights. He is from Suva, Fiji, and has studied international politics and law at the University of the South Pacifi…

She is a Pakistani activist, entrepreneur, writer, and disability rights advocate, known for her efforts to promote inclusivity and equality for people with disabilities in Pakistan. Tanzila Khan has been actively involved in raising awareness about the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and working towards creating a more accessible…

Hanifa Girowal was a young female politician, and human rights advocate who served as Kabul’s deputy governor on socio-economic and development affairs, managing development and funding projects, mitigating conflicts, and providing essential services to Kabul residents.Previously, she worked with the Afghanistan Independent human rights commission …

Dr. Claudia Ituarte-Lima is Leader of the Human Rights and the Environment thematic area and senior researcher at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Her work unites legal analysis and sustainability science for examining environmental and human rights governance challenges and innovative levers to address them. She…

Matthew Scott is senior researcher and leader of the Human Rights and the Environment thematic area at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. He is also adjunct senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law at Lund University. His work focuses on integrating social science perspectives with international legal standards to pro…

Mahmouda Sonia Eqbal is a Research Fellow at RWI Afghanistan Programme shares insights on her latest research report titled "Afghan constitutions and the placement of education." shedding light to women and girl´s education in Afghanistan.By The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

In this podcast we talk with a human rights activist within the Women! Life! Freedom! movement about Narges Mohammadi and her lifelong work. She is the Iranian human rights activist that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 on Sunday 12 of September, for her lifelong work and activism on human rights and Women’s rights in Iran. Most of her adult …

Ms. Evelyn Adzovi Addor is a Climate Youth Negotiators Programme-trained Loss and Damage Negotiator for Ghana and the African Group of Negotiators. She is a development communications professional and the communications lead at EcoCare Ghana, a right-based natural resources and environmental advocacy non-governmental organisation in Ghana. Evelyn i…

Neshan’s professional experience includes engagements with Government, non-government, bilateral and multilateral sectors and was a former member of the international civil service. Neshan Gunasekera has a background in international law, human rights, international relations, programme and project management and has worked to promote environmental…

Mohammad Abul Ahrar Ramizpoor is an Afghan academic, Peace and Human Rights activist who has served as a lecturer at Kabul University, Sharia and Law faculties, where he completed his BA studies in Islamic Jurisprudence and Law in 1990. He is currently an Afghan Research Fellow at RWI. Mr. Ramizpoor is a council member of the Pugwash Conferences or…

With firsthand professional experience both as a delegate at international forums representing her homeland and in the classroom, Prof. Romero brings a unique perspective to the Maritime Law and Policy Specialisation. She lectures on International Organisations and Maritime Conventions, the Law of the Sea, and the Protection of the Marine Environme…

Alyn Ware is a peace educator and nuclear disarmament consultant from New Zealand. In 2009, he received the Right Livelihood Award for his vast efforts to promote peace education and disarmament.The Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” is an international award given annually to honor individuals, organizations, and …

Jules Han Amm is a PhD candidate at Uppsala University with most of their work focusing on the trans community and its internal disputes as well as legal frameworks of informed consent, self-determination, and trans healthcare access. Jules acquired a Bachelor’s in development studies and Master’s in Gender Studies from Lund University. In this epi…

Marthe is a Cameroonian human rights, gender and peace activist. Since the 1990s, she has worked to prevent and fight sexual violence against children. She founded her organization ALDEPA in 1998, where she supports the well-being of girls through education, bro-bono legal assistance and psychosocial care. In 2019 she was awarded the Right liveliho…

Morten Koch Andersen, expert on human rights and corruption explainsBy The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Richard Bennett - Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. by The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian LawBy The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 Days Campaign against SGBV, we met with Tyson Nicholas and Julia Dalman to discuss the issue of Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV).Tyson Nicholas is currently the Staff Officer Gender, Peace and Security in the Royal Australian Navy. He has previo…

On the occasion of this auspicious day, we met with Tyson Nicholas and Julia Dalman to discuss the issue of Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV).Tyson Nicholas is currently the Staff Officer Gender, Peace and Security in the Royal Australian Navy. He has previously served as the Military Expert on Investigations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse …

Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days. Most of us do not reflect much about what it does. Nevertheless, it is a part of our lives. We do get a lot of help from AI systems and the benefits are many. AI is fast, accurate, has a low cost and works around the clock.Artificial intelligence is a part of our infrastructure and helps with a vast…

The right to housing is a human right that is critical to a person’s health, dignity, safety, inclusion and contribution to their community. According to the UN Special Rapporteur, courts must protect both negative and positive housing rights guaranteed by these international instruments.In this podcast you will access insight from the global direc…

In our latest episode of “On Human Rights” we spoke with Virginia Dignum, a professor in social and ethical AI at Umeå University in Sweden. We discussed the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence and its connection with human rights. In this interview, we cover a range of topics relevant to AI and human rights, from AI itself, misconceptions,…

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 1996, Farima Nawabi was a high school student. Suddenly, she was asked to stay home for five years. Her house turned into a prison for her sisters and her. “The prison of our dreams, goals and hopes for a free and independent life. Our only crime was being women in Afghanistan.” Under the Taliban rule, Fari…

Anchinesh Shiferaw spent some time at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute's head office in Lund as a visiting scholar. In this wide-ranging interview, we cover everything from her academic journey to her exciting research in the area of women's land rights in Ethiopia.By The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

A recording of April 26 webinar, the first session of RWI webinar series on The Forthcoming EU’s Directive On Human Rights Due Diligence. This event focused on Where does it come from? What may it lead to? What are the limits of due diligence as a tool to protect human rights in global supply chain?Enjoy listening! More info on our website.…

Webcast; listen to the webinar on Poverty, Human Rights and the SDGs - How to Address Post-Pandemic PovertyBy The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Campaining Against Racism in Sweden: Interview with Isatou Aysha Jones by The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian LawBy The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Sweden is usually not the first country that comes to mind when one thinks of racism or racial discrimination. Yet, as in the United States and many European countries, it has been part of its history and it is still an issue today. We sat down with Paul Lappalainen, American lawyer and member of the European Network of experts in gender equality a…

We sat down with Petra Tötterman Andorff, the Secretary General of the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, to discuss the United Nations 1325 Resolution on Women, Peace & Security.This landmark resolution was adopted in 2000 and drew three main objectives: - To ensure women participation in peace agreement processes - The protection of women and girls a…

In our latest podcast episode of “On Human Rights” we spoke with Sabira Coelho about the topic of the right of people that are, and can potentially be, displaced in the context of the Pacific region. Sabira Coelho currently serves as the Programme Manager at International Organization for Migration Fiji (IOM)for the three-year joint-programme, “Enh…

In this episode Matthew Scott, head of our thematic area People on the Move, sits down with UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary. They discuss her work (Jiminez-Damary is the first woman to hold this position, internal displacement, policy and political will and the human rights based app…

On Human Rights is happy to present the second episode in our two part special on Human Rights Cities. This episode features senior researcher Alejandro Fuentes whom we sat down with to discuss what human rights cities are in practice, and what this means for their inhabitants. How can citizens tell that their city strives to be a human rights city…

What is a Human Rights City? Our podcast "On Human Rights" is happy to present a two part special on the topic of human rights cities. Human Rights Cities is growing concept and movement that anchors human rights in cities and local context – in the daily lives of people. But what does this actually mean?In the first episode, we sit down with our D…