International Human Rights Law Alumni Updates

We now offer alumni of the Master's in International Human Right Law the opportunity to audit the summer elective classes of the current MSc* in International Human Rights Law course.  This pilot scheme ran successfully for the first time in 2025 and is continuing in 2026. You can find out more at alumni audit scheme.

* The course changed from a Master of Studies (MSt) to a Master of Science (MSc) in 2022 when the course moved from the Department for Continuing Education (now Oxford Lifelong Learning) to the Law Faculty. The course remained the same in terms of content, structure, leadership and the student experience, but the title was changed from MSt to MSc to better reflect the centrality of research in the degree, to make the qualification more recognisable internationally and to bring it into line with other masters courses offered in the Law Faculty and Social Sciences Division. 

Spotlight on Gihan Indraguptha from Sri Lanka who undertook the degree from 2019 - 2021

Gihan Indraguptha

Gihan says:

When I began my Master's in International Human Rights Law at Oxford in 2019, I was a mid-career diplomat with what seemed like a promising future. By the time I graduated in 2021, I was an unemployed refugee. Despite those turbulent years, it was this very degree that would become the turning point in my life. The Oxford experience not only gave me formal academic credentials but also the confidence, perspective, and academic grounding to pursue meaningful work in the field of human rights law that has always been my passion.

For nearly three years now, I have served as a Human Rights Officer at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. In this capacity, I have supported the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and on freedom of religion or belief. The knowledge and rigorous analytical skills I acquired at Oxford, under the guidance of some of the world’s foremost scholars and practitioners, have proved invaluable as I navigated a new organisation and career path later in life.

None of this would have been possible without the Commonwealth Scholarship, which made it possible for me to pursue my studies at Oxford. As a public servant from the global south, and subsequently as a refugee without income, the financial means to undertake graduate studies in IHRL at the University of Oxford would have been beyond my reach. The scholarship was not merely an academic opportunity; it was a lifeline that helped me to rebuild my professional career and personal identity against all odds.

I take solace in knowing that, in some small measure, I have been able to honour that debt through my work by advocating for victims of grave human rights violations and contributing to the global pursuit of justice and dignity. I remain profoundly grateful for the opportunity to have become a practitioner and advocate for human rights.

I sincerely hope that the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme continues to empower individuals like myself - those with the passion and potential to make a meaningful difference, but constrained by the circumstances of their country of origin or station in life.

If you are interested in featuring in a future alumni spotlight, please contact us via ihrl@law.ox.ac.uk. 

• Parcasio, Marjun (alumnus), A normative account of safety in the human right to a healthy environment, Cambridge International Law Journal (2025), 14(1), 30-51
• Friðþjófsdóttir, Sigurlaug Soffía (alumnus), Structural Ableism and the ECtHR: A Critical Examination of the Court’s Accessibility Jurisprudence, International Journal of Discrimination and the Law (2025)
• Chatton, Gregor (alumnus), 'Under What Circumstances Could a “Climate Refugee” Facing Deportation Invoke the Non-Refoulement Principle? An Analysis Essentially Drawn from the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s Practice, with a Focus on its Teitiota v New Zealand case' in Véronique Boillet, Anne-Christine Favre, Thierry Largey, Raphael Mahaim (eds) Environnement, Climat: Principes, droits et justiciabilité (Helbing Lichtenhahn 2024), 263-294
• Subedi, Surya (faculty), Interlinkages Between Human Rights, Climate Action and Due Diligence Obligations of States: Potential Impact on Business Organizations, Environmental Policy and Law (2025), 55(6), 190-197

If you have recently published an article or book chapter and would like it to be included here, please contact us via ihrl@law.ox.ac.uk. 

We keep a closed group for alumni of the MSc and MSt in International Human Rights Law on LinkedIn and invite all alumni to join us there (you will need to request to join).

Find us on LinkedIn

The Faculty of Law is home to two leading research centres in international human rights law - The Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and the Oxford Human Rights Hub. 

The Bonavero Institute is dedicated to fostering world-class research and scholarship in human rights law, to promoting public engagement in and understanding of human rights issues, and to building valuable conversations and collaborations between human rights scholars and human rights practitioners. 

The Oxford Human Rights Hub (OxHRH) aims to bring together academics, practitioners, and policy-makers from across the globe to advance the understanding and protection of human rights and equality, to develop new approaches to policy, and to influence the development of human rights law and practice.

There are lots of ways you can get involved with both centres, including events, blogs and podcasts - see their individual websites for further information. 

The Faculty of Law is also a leading educator in the field of human rights law, now offering both the MSc in International Human Rights Law and the Summer School in International Human Rights Law.

If you are interested in supporting the activities of the Faculty of Law whether by mentoring a student, giving a careers talk or guest lecture, sharing your experience since leaving Oxford or making a charitable donation now or leave a lasting legacy in your will please contact the Development and Alumni Engagement Team.