Perry World House Perry World House Announces Visiting Fellows for Thakore Family Global Justice and Human Rights Program

Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania is delighted to announce the 2023-24 Thakore Family Global Justice and Human Rights Visiting Fellows. Following the inaugural visiting fellowship of Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, in 2022, the program is proud to bring to campus another two distinguished leaders in the field of global justice and human rights. The visiting fellows will bring to Penn a wealth of knowledge and expertise acquired through decades of working at the highest levels of global human rights stewardship.

“Philip and Kate are giants in the field of human rights. They each possess a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities that shape our pursuit of global justice and have demonstrated a commendable fearlessness in confronting those who shamelessly trample on the human rights of others,” said Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, Perry World House professor of practice of law and human rights and the faculty director of the Global Justice and Human Rights program. “Their expertise will provide the Perry World House community—and Penn more broadly—with unparalleled insight into the global landscape of human rights advocacy and assist the new program’s development.”

The current Global Justice and Human Rights visiting fellows are:

Philip Alston is John Norton Pomeroy professor of law at New York University Law School.  He was editor-in-chief of the European Journal of International Law from 1996 to 2007 and co-founder of the European Society of International Law. He has published extensively, and a new edition of his textbook on international human rights law will be published in 2024. He has held various United Nations (UN) posts, including UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (2014-2020), special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions (2004-10), chairperson of the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1991-98), independent expert on reform of the UN human rights treaty body system (1989-97), and special advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Millennium Development Goals (2004-07). He was also a member of the UN Security Council Commission of Inquiry on the Central African Republic, and of the Independent International Commission on Kyrgyzstan.

Kate Gilmore is a former United Nations (UN) deputy high commissioner for human rights, a professor-in-practice with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and an honorary professor with the University of Essex Human Rights Centre. Chair of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Board, she is also vice chair of the Interpeace Board, co-chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Gender and Human Rights Advisory Panel on Human Reproduction, and a member of the WHO Immunization Agenda 2030 Partnership Panel. Previously a fellow with Harvard University’s Carr Centre, Professor Gilmore was assistant secretary general with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and earlier, Amnesty International’s executive deputy secretary general. Her career began in Australia, having received a BA from the University of New England and a BSW from the University of Melbourne. Her areas of interest include the international human rights system, political narratives on sexual and reproductive health and rights, youth exclusion from key political processes, and international leadership in tumultuous times.