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Christopher L. Avery (Director)
Christopher Avery is an international human rights lawyer who founded the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.
From 1983 to 1995 Chris worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London, first as Legal Adviser, then as Deputy Head of the Research Department (the department then comprising 130 staff in 6 units: Africa, Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Legal & Intergovernmental Organisations). His work at Amnesty included representing the organisation at the United Nations, undertaking research missions and trial observations in various countries, ensuring the quality and impartiality of country research, and serving as a member of the Senior Management Group.
After leaving Amnesty, Chris conducted independent field research on the extent to which companies were contributing to development and human rights projects in South Africa, India, Thailand and the Philippines. When he returned to Europe, he discussed human rights issues with multinational companies preparing to adopt human rights policies. He researched and wrote Business and Human Rights in a Time of Change, a 108-page report published by Amnesty International UK. He also served on the Advisory Group for the business & human rights project conducted by the International Council on Human Rights Policy (Geneva), which resulted in the report Beyond Voluntarism: Human rights and the developing international legal obligations of companies (2002).
In late 2000 he founded the Business & Human Rights Resource Website, which became the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in Sep. 2002.
His publications include:
• Business and Human Rights in a Time of Change (London: Amnesty International UK, Feb. 2000)
• "Business and Human Rights in a Time of Change," in M. Kamminga and S. Zia-Zarifi (eds.), Liability of Multinational Corporations under International Law (The Hague: Kluwer International Law, 2000)
• "Business and Human Rights," in V. Iyer (ed.), Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law: Essays in Honour of Nani Palkhivala (New Delhi: Butterworths, 2000)
• "Refugee Status Decision-Making: The Systems of Ten Countries," Stanford Journal of International Law, vol. 19-2 (Oct. 1984)
In 1997 he was Stanford University’s seventh Visiting Mentor – a programme sponsored by the university’s Haas Center for Public Service that “brings distinguished professionals in public service to a week-long residency on campus, where they speak with students, faculty and staff.”
Chris was educated at Columbia University School of Law (LLM); University of California, Davis, School of Law (JD; Order of the Coif; Corpus Juris Secundum Award - awarded by faculty to graduating law student who “made the greatest contribution to legal scholarship”); and Stanford University (BA, Honours; recipient of Weter Prize – awarded by History Department for outstanding honours paper of the year: The Treatment of Black Prisoners of War by the Confederacy: The Case History of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment).
Chris is fluent in English, with some Spanish & French.
Joanne Bauer (Senior Researcher, New York Representative, HIV/AIDS Project Manager)
Joanne Bauer is a specialist in environmental issues, human rights, international policy and Asia. From 1994 to 2005 she was Director of Studies at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs (New York), where she founded their human rights program and environmental values program. She was the Council’s Director of Japan Programs from 1991 to 1994 and before that held positions in banking, government affairs, and broadcast media.
Joanne has organised, led and spoken at workshops, panel discussions, and seminars in the US and abroad. At the Carnegie Council she developed and directed the fellows program, which attracted each year over 350 applications for five to nine fellowships designed for early career scholars and mid-career professionals.
Joanne was founder and editor of Human Rights Dialogue, a magazine published by the Carnegie Council from 1993-2005 that featured the perspectives of scholars, activists and other policy makers from around the globe working to put human rights theory into practice. She edited Forging Environmentalism: Justice, Livelihood and Contested Environments, published by ME Sharpe in 2006, that presents new case material on environmental politics researched and written by leading Japanese, American, Chinese and Indian scholars. She co-edited The East Asian Challenge for Human Rights published by Cambridge University Press in 1999. Joanne served as a contributing editor to the journal Ethics & International Affairs, editor of Dialogue OnLine, the on-line companion to Human Rights Dialogue, and has authored numerous articles, reviews and conference reports. She wrote "The Challenge to Interntional Human Rights", which appeared as a chapter in Constructing Human Rights in the Age of Globalization (http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/viewMedia.php/prmTemplateID/8/prmID/905).
Joanne earned her BA from Colgate University and her MA in International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
Joanne is fluent in English & Japanese.
Mauricio Lazala (Head of Latin America and the Middle East & Senior Researcher)
Mauricio Lazala is an international lawyer with human rights experience in Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.
He was previously a law clerk at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he worked at the Investigation Division of the Office of Chief Prosecutor.
During 2002-3 Mauricio worked in Mexico for NGOs including the Mexican Commission for the Protection and Defence of Human Rights, and Espacios Alternativos, working on a microcredit program for low-income women. He also lectured in a course on international human rights and humanitarian law at Mexico’s National Commission for Human Rights. In Israel, Mauricio was Outreach Coordinator at B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, and worked at the Public Committee against Torture in Israel.
His publications include "Solutions for the Israel-Palestine Conflict", published in Per Incuriam - Magazine of Cambridge University Law Society (2004).
Mauricio was educated at Cambridge University (Law degree, Honours), where he was president of the Students’ Law Society of Wolfson College. He obtained his BA in Political Science and History at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he co-founded the first human rights student organization in Israel. In 2001 he participated in the International Human Rights Exchange course at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Mauricio is fluent in Spanish, English & Hebrew.
Abiola Okpechi (Africa Researcher & Coordinator, based in Cape Town)
Abiola Okpechi is a lawyer and human rights advocate. Her previous experience includes working as a Refugee Counsellor with the University of Cape Town Law Clinic, and before that, as a Legal Officer in the Human Rights Unit of the Justice, Development & Peace Commission (JDPC), Archdiocese of Ibadan, Nigeria. She has also worked as a legislative aide in Nigeria’s Senate where she provided analytical and research assistance, especially for bills having a human rights perspective.
From 1998 to 2001 Abiola was the Abuja (Nigeria) Representative and Human Rights Coordinator for the Center for Development Action, where she coordinated the organization’s reproductive health and children’s rights advocacy programmes and served on the drafting panel of Nigeria’s National Reproductive Health Policy, and on the National Committee for the International Year of Volunteers (IYV 2001). Between 2001 and 2003 Abiola served as a facilitator/trainer in the North-South Centre’s annual summer university course on Human Rights in Molina, Spain, and as an intern with the International Federation of Women Lawyers in Ibadan. There, she was part of the Federation’s election monitoring group during Nigeria’s 1999 general elections.
Abiola is author of “The protection of children and young persons under African refugee law”, the result of field research she conducted in the UNHCR refugee camp in Oru, Nigeria.
Abiola is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Cape Town, where her thesis examines the accessibility of the South African justice system to refugees and asylum seekers. Abiola was also educated at the University of Ibadan (MSc Humanitarian and Refugee Studies); Nigeria Law School Abuja (BL); and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (LLB, honours).
She is fluent in Yoruba, Hausa and English, and is continuing her studies in French.
Gregory Tzeutschler Regaignon (Head of Research & North America Manager)
Gregory Regaignon is an international lawyer whose academic background includes degrees in African Studies and International Economics.
Greg was previously an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, a leading international law firm based in New York City. At Cleary Gottlieb, Greg’s practice focused on restructuring sovereign, project and corporate debt in emerging market contexts. Greg also had a significant pro bono practice at Cleary Gottlieb, working mainly on issues of political asylum, domestic violence, women’s rights and civil rights. He has worked with Human Rights Watch in New York, the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, and the Legal Aid Institute of Indonesia, focusing on issues of labour rights, corporate responsibility for human rights, the environment and civil/political rights. He also served as an election monitor for Indonesia Election Watch during Indonesia’s historic 1999 elections.
Greg’s publications include “Corporate Violator: The Alien Tort Liability of Transnational Corporations for Human Rights Abuses Abroad,” Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 30:359 (1999).
He obtained his JD (Stone Scholar) from Columbia Law School, where he also obtained his certificate from the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law and was Senior Editor of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and winner of the Gitelson-Meyerowitz Prize for Human Rights Writing. He obtained his MA in African Studies and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he was an editor of the SAIS Review, and received the African Studies Program Paper Award. He conducted independent field research in rural Senegal on land rights issues, and published the results in the Journal of African Law. He obtained his BA in Political Science magna cum laude from Amherst College.
Greg is fluent in English & French, with some Spanish.
Roddy Shaw Kwok-wah (East Asia Researcher & Coordinator, based in Hong Kong)
Roddy Shaw Kwok-wah is an anti-discrimination advocate on race, gender and sexuality in Hong Kong, China. He worked as legal researcher for Civil Rights for Sexual Diversities and represented victims at the Equal Opportunities Commission in cases of discrimination based on gender, marital and family status, disability and sexual orientation, and in cases of sexual harassment. Roddy participated in working groups for Amnesty International Hong Kong and Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. He was a working group member for the Equal Opportunities Bill before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. He currently teaches part-time at University of Hong Kong on Human Rights Education and Gender & Sexuality issues. He is also a trainer and consultant to many NGOs on human rights advocacy and has run workshops on human rights case documentation. He is on the board of AIDS Concern.
Roddy co-authored the book The Visible Truth - Hong Kong Report on Equal Rights for LGBT People (in Chinese). He was co-convenor of Civil Human Rights Front, an NGO coalition with more than 50 member organizations in Hong Kong. He is consulted by the Hong Kong SAR government on various human rights and public policy issues as a member of government-established forums such as the Public Affairs Forum, Human Rights Forum and Sexual Minorities Forum. In Roddy's earlier career, he worked for Mass Transit Railway Corporation and PCCW (formerly Cable & Wireless), and was a technology and management consultant for multinational corporations in Hong Kong, China and Southeast Asia.
He graduated from University of Hong Kong (LLM in Human Rights; MA in Cultural and Literary Studies). He also obtained a BSc (Hons) in Computer Studies from City University of Hong Kong.
Roddy is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin & English, with good Thai & French.
Annabel Short (Head of Programme)
Annabel Short is an environmental journalist whose academic background includes Spanish, French and Development Studies. From 2002-2003 Annabel was a consultant with Context, a London-based company specialising in corporate social and environmental reporting.
Before joining Context Annabel worked as a freelance journalist. She has written for magazines such as Ethical Corporation, Geographical, and Tomorrow, and has written a book of environmental tips for The Ecologist (entitled Go Make A Difference!). Annabel contributed the working group statement on sustainable production and consumption to Why women are essential for sustainable development (results of the European Women’s Conference for a Sustainable Future, Prague, 2002). She reported on the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, for a UNEP-sponsored media project.
In 1999 Annabel worked in Lima, Peru, as a campaigns volunteer with Amnesty International and an intern at Reuters. She has also spent a year teaching English in Chile.
Annabel has an MSc in Development Studies from Birkbeck College (University of London), for which her dissertation examined security & human rights issues associated with oil extraction in Arauca, Colombia. She also has a postgraduate diploma in Periodical Journalism from City University, London; MA Joint Honours in Spanish and French from Edinburgh University; certificate in International Human Rights Law and Practice from London School of Economics.
Annabel is fluent in English, Spanish & French.
Sif Thorgeirsson (Manager, Corporate Legal Accountability Project)
Sif Thorgeirsson, a national of Iceland & USA, was a Researcher at Yale Law School on international human rights issues (including business & human rights). She was an associate at Troutman Sanders law firm in Washington, DC, where her practice focused on project development and finance in the energy sector, international law and corporate law. Sif received her law degree from George Washington University Law School in 1998. While studying law, Sif worked as a research assistant to international law Professor Ralph Steinhardt, working on subjects including human rights and corporate responsibility. Sif attended the Oxford University Summer Programme in International Human Rights Law. She received her BA in History and Political Science from McGill University in Canada. Sif is fluent in English & Icelandic, with some Spanish & French.
Joe Westby (Researcher & Operations Officer)
Joe Westby, a UK national, has a BA in Philosophy, Politics & Economics at Oxford University, where he specialised in International Relations and covered a wide range of human rights issues. Joe was previously a Research Intern at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, and in 2007 completed an internship at EIRIS (Ethical Investment Research Services). In 2003 Joe spent three months working with children on a voluntary project in a disadvantaged area near Lima, Peru. He has also worked as a Learning Support Assistant in a school in London. Joe is fluent in English with some Spanish.
Rita Bonora (Research Intern)
Rita Bonora, an Italian national, completed her MSc in Development Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London -- her dissertation examined the rehabilitation and reintegration programmes of child soldiers with a gender perspective. While studying, she was programme co-ordinator for the Volunteer Programme at Birkbeck. Rita received her degree in Economics and Business Studies at Bologna University, Italy. She worked as an analyst for an independent provider of financial information in London. Recently Rita attended a programme in India focusing on participatory practices and community-led development initiatives. She previously volunteered with Global Development Forum and Peace Brigades International. She is now based in Seoul, South Korea. Rita is fluent in English & Italian.
Sandra Cossart (Research Intern)
Sandra Cossart is an international lawyer. Her academic background includes a degree in Russian Studies from the French Institute of Foreign Languages and civilisations, a Masters in International Relations from Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and an LLM in European Law from the College of Europe in Belgium. She recently obtained a certificate in International Human Rights Law and Practice from London School of Economics. Sandra has worked for international organisations - UN Economic Commission for Europe, European Parliament and Council of Europe - focusing on East European countries and the CIS. She has also worked on EU-funded projects in Russia and was a long term expert on “Strengthening the state of law and legal education in Russia”. Subsequently, she was an associate at Clement Vivien & Associés in Paris where her practice included corporate and commercial law. She has done voluntary work with human rights NGOs mainly on issues of political asylum and refugee policy, especially on Chechen refugees. Sandra is fluent in French, English and Russian with some Italian.
Danielle McMullan (Research Intern)
Danielle McMullan, a UK national, recently completed the lecture component of an LLM in International Human Rights Law at University of Essex, and is currently writing her dissertation on the human rights law implications of the detention of asylum seekers. Earlier academic study includes a Law LLB (Honours) from the University of Reading, where she was Secretary of the Amnesty International Group. From 2004-2007 Danielle worked as a solicitor with law firm Mayer Brown; during that period she was a pro bono adviser at the Royal Courts of Justice and adviser at the Islington Law Centre. Danielle is fluent in English with some German.
Nora Serrat-Capdevila (Research Intern)
Nora Serrat-Capdevila, a Spanish national, has an MA in Human Rights from the University of Essex and a double degree in Political Science from the Pompeu Fabra University (Spain) and the Institute of Political Studies in Toulouse (France). Her MA dissertation analyzed the process of transitional justice in Liberia. Nora has worked as a volunteer at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International (Office of the Secretary General and Mexico team), and has undertaken research for REDRESS. As an intern at the Mexican American Studies & Research Centre (University of Arizona), Nora took part in a research project on human rights violations related to migration law enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. At the same time, she was involved with various local human rights groups working on migration issues. Nora is fluent in Catalan, Spanish, French and English, with some German.
Xue Yang (Research Intern)
Xue Yang, a Chinese national, has an LLM in International Human Rights Law from University of Notre Dame (USA) and an LLB from Peking University (China). Her LLM thesis studied the phenomenon of sex selection in China. She has undertaken research on China’s new labour contract law, aspects of women’s rights, the international aspects of the Khmer Rouge atrocities and trial, and the relationship between human rights philosophy and Chinese culture. Xue interned in the Civil Courtroom of Guilin Intermediate People’s Courthouse and Peking University Law Clinic, and she has volunteered with Peking University Legal Aid Association. During these work experiences Xue focused on the legal protection of underprivileged and disadvantaged populations, and she analyzed this topic in her LLB dissertation. Xue is fluent in English and Chinese (Mandarin).
