Dr Alice Edwards

Bio

Dr. Alice Jill Edwards is a transformative figure in international law and human rights. Her work spans groundbreaking legal scholarship, strategic leadership in multilateral initiatives, tangible advocacy in crisis zones, and thought leadership that has reshaped how states—and the international community—address torture, sexual violence, detention, and refugee protection. Dr Edwards was appointed in July 2022 by the UN Human Rights Council to the position of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman Treatment or Punishment. She is the first woman to hold the post. As the UN’s leading expert on torture, Dr Edwards is at the forefront of global efforts to combat torture. Her role includes conducting fact-finding country visits and pursuing justice for victims of state-sanctioned violence.

Between 2016 and 2021 Dr Edwards headed the Secretariat of the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI), an initiative of the governments of Chile, Denmark, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco, which aims at achieving universal ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT). Prior to this, Dr Edwards was Chief of Protection Policy and Legal Advice Section at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), making her the principal legal adviser in the Organization. She was responsible for initiating and leading the implementation of the UNHCR’s Global Strategy – Beyond Detention, a blueprint for action to support governments to end the routine detention of asylum seekers through constructive dialogue, technical advice and capacity building. Dr Edwards drafted the first set of guidelines on gender-related persecution and the current guidelines on detention and alternatives to detention.

Dr Edwards has spent her nearly 30-year career working for the rights of victims of human rights violations, including in the major conflict situations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mozambique and Rwanda. Among her achievements is the now globally recognised doctrine that rape and sexual violence are forms of torture and persecution, meriting international refugee protection. Her book, Violence Against Women under International Human Rights Law has influenced policies in a number of countries. She was also responsible for initiatives in advising States on reforming domestic laws to include torture as a prosecutable offence.