Chidi Anselm

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu is Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at the Fletcher School and currently chairs the Truth, Justice, and Peace Commission, a transitional justice initiative established to address the crises of violence and agitation in the states of south-east Nigeria. He previously chaired Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission and served on the panel of eminent persons that negotiated the return of The Gambia to the Commonwealth in 2017.

Odinkalu has acted as counsel in international human rights litigation before Africa’s regional human rights courts and tribunals and was involved in the creation of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He is associated with several advocacy initiatives for the protection of human rights, including the International Refugee Rights Initiative.

His research focuses on contemporary challenges of multilateralism in regional systems in development, human rights and governance. He is the co-author of Too Good to Die: Third Term and the Myth of the Indispensable Man in Africa (Kachifo, 2018).

Research/Areas of Interest:

• Leisure in International Law and Development
• Contemporary Challenges of Regional Arrangements in International Law & Relations
• The Future of Human Rights and Governance in Africa

Education

• Ph.D., London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), London, United Kingdom, 2007
• LL.M., University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria, 1990
• B.L. (Hons), Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria, 1988
• LL.B (Hons), College of Legal Studies, Imo State University, Uturu, Nigeria, 1987

Tufts University Appointments

• Professor of Practice
  Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, GBR 1 Sep 2021 - present

Academic Positions

• Co-Director, LL.M Program
  Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Medford, MA, United States Sep 2022 - present

Non-academic Positions

• Chair, Board of Directors
  International Refugee Rights Initiative, IRRI, Kampala, Uganda Apr 2018 - present
• Chair, International Advisory Board
  Global Rights, Abuja, Nigeria Aug 2017 - present
• Co-Chair
  Sudan Consortium, Kampala/Khartoum, Uganda Jan 2010 - present
• Member of the Board
  Atrocities Watch, Africa, Kampala, Uganda Jan 2020 - present
• Member, International Advisory Board
  Physicians for Human Rights, New York, United States Jan 2022 - present
• Member, Editorial Advisory Board
  Health & Human Rights, Boston, United States Jan 2020 - present
• Chair
  Truth, Justice, & Peace Commission, TJPC, SE Nigeria, Awka, Nigeria Jun 2022 - present