Prof. Deepika Udagama, Dr. Ai Kihara-Hunt, and Dr. He Tiantian, who are currently members of APJIHL’s Board of Experts, sat down with the Editorial Team of APJIHL to discuss their careers as academics and practitioner of IHL, explore the relevance and emerging issues of IHL in the region, and reflections on the importance of scholarship and discourse encouraged by journals such the APJIHL for the Asia-Pacific.
Prof. Deepika Udagama
Chair Professor of Department of Law, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Prof. Nelum Deepika Udagama is the recently retired Chair Professor of Law at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She is an academic specialized in International Human Rights. She received her legal education at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo (LL.B. (Hons.) and LL.M. Degrees) and School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, USA (LL.M. and Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) Degrees) in international human rights law. In 1991 she founded the Centre for the Study of Human Rights (CSHR) at the University of Colombo and served as its Founding Director (1991-97). She also played a key role in the establishment of the Department of Law at the University of Peradeniya (2009) and in the formulation of a unique inter-disciplinary curriculum for its LL.B. Degree Program with a focus on social justice. She served as the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (October, 2015 – August, 2020). Under her stewardship the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka was promoted to ‘A’ status accreditation by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) in 2018. She was elected by the UN Sub-Commission as Co-Special Rapporteur (with Prof. Joe Oloka-Onyango of Uganda) on the theme ‘Globalization and its Impact on the Full Enjoyment of Human Rights’, resulting in an often-cited pioneering study on the theme (1999-2001). She is the recipient of several academic awards including a Senior Fulbright Scholar Award with a placement at the Harvard Human Rights Center (1997-98). She has taught at the UN University in Tokyo, Faculty of Law, Hong Kong University and the National Law University Delhi. She has also served on editorial boards of international and national academic law journals including the Netherlands Quarterly on Human Rights.
Dr. Ai Kihara-Hunt
Professor, the University of Tokyo
Dr. Ai Kihara-Hunt is Professor at the Graduate Program on Human Security, the University of Tokyo. At the University, she is also Director of the International Law Training and Research Hub, and Director of the Research Center for Sustainable Peace. She previously served as Secretary at the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS). Her main areas of research and publications are human rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), United Nations (UN) Peace Operations, in particular UN Police, the rule of law, and accountability. She coaches student teams on IHL and human rights. Her publications include Holding UNPOL to Account: Individual Criminal Accountability of United Nations Police Personnel (Brill, 2017). She currently serves as an expert member of the Study Group on Future of Peacekeeping for the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025. Prior to working at the University of Tokyo, she worked as Human Rights Officer for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal and at the headquarters, Assistant to the Executive Director of the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste, Associate Protection Officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sri Lanka, Public Information and Community Outreach Officer at the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor, and Human Rights Officer in the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).
Dr. He Tiantian
Associate Professor, Institute of International Law Chinese Academy of Social Science
Dr. HE Tiantian completed her Ph.D. in International Law from Renmin University of China in 2015. Presently, she serves as an associate research fellow at the Institute of International Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Additionally, she is an associate professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and works as an editor for Chinese Review of International Law. She is now a council Member of Chinese Society of International Law and a member of Asian Society of International Law. Dr. HE Tiantian’s research focuses on international humanitarian law, international criminal law and international dispute settlement. She published a book titled “The War Crime of Child Recruitment: Analysis of the First Judgment of the International Criminal Court” in 2018. Her publications have appeared in journals both in English and Chinese, such as Chinese Journal of International Law, Law Sciences, and Chinese Review of International Law, among others
