On Human Rights

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 comparative and narrative analyses, supported by extensive p...

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 human rights advocacy at the United Nations and Eur...

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 so incredibly impactful. She's done everything fr...

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 Afghanistan and co-authored the National Human Devel...

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 odds. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute had the pleasur...

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 groundbreaking Political Terror Scale, which tracks gover...

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 title “The Strategy of Human Rights”. The episode is...

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.

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 focusing on education and empowerment. Maliha delv...

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 minister for economic cooperation. Hamid previously ser...

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 by strengthening the state’s institutional respo...

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: Navigating Challenges Amidst Socio-Political Shifts”.

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. She has previously worked on international criminal...

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 Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI). Rahimi's r...

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. & Österdahl, I. (red.) (2024). Folkrätten i svens...

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, including the Afghanistan Forensics Science Organisation...

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 is a former President of the Human Rights Section...

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 Pacific. He has been part of the ICJ advisory opinion mo...

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 and inclusive society. She has also gained recogn...

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 (AIHRC), where she contributed to creating the in...

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 has bridged the human rights and biodiversity “co...

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 promote context-sensitive, human rights-based law, po...

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.

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 life Narges has been politically active- from publ...

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 is passionate about designing campaigns to increase...