Prof. Geoff Gilbert

Geoff Gilbert is a Professor of International Human Rights & Humanitarian Law in the School of Law and Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. He was Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Refugee Law from 2002-15 and is now co-Editor-in-Chief since September 2019. In July 2020, he was made the inaugural Chair of the Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network Secretariat, following the 2019 Global Refugee Forum. In 2014 he was appointed a consultant to UNHCR (with Anna Magdalena Rüsch) on Rule of Law: Engagement for Solutions. In 2017, again with Anna Magdalena, they were commissioned by the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW, to write Creating Safe Zones and Safe Corridors in Conflict Situations: Providing protection at home or preventing the search for asylum? Under an ESRC Impact Acceleration Award 2017-18, he worked with UNHCR on the political participation of refugees in their country of nationality and on exclusion and national security. UNHCR then invited him, first, to participate in the Thematic Discussions on the Global Compact on Refugees and then to attend the Formal Consultations, contributing orally or in writing as appropriate; he was the only academic given access by UNHCR to the Formal Consultations. During 2018-20, he was the External Expert with Anna Magdalena Rüsch on the upgrade to EASO’s Exclusion module. In 2020-21, UNHCR appointed him along with Anna Magdalena again to evaluate its Rights Mapping tool. He is currently evaluating the Protection of Refugees’ Fundamental Rights during the Pandemic for the COVID-19 Global Evaluation Coalition. In 2009 he was elected a Bencher of the Middle Temple and was called in February 2010.