News
Dr Elena Kavanagh, expert on Indigenous rights, joins the CCJHR.
The CCJHR is delighted to welcome Dr Elena Kavanagh to the CCJHR.
Dr Elena Kavanagh is a researcher specialising in Indigenous peoples' rights, self-determination, and Arctic governance.
During Elena’s doctoral studies at the School of Law, University College Cork, she examined the language rights of Indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation. Prior to her doctoral research, Elena conducted studies on Arctic governance and Indigenous rights at the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in Finland and Nord University in Norway. Considered an international expert on Indigenous rights, her areas of expertise include international law, global governance, Indigenous rights, language rights, human rights, and international relations.
Elena is also an Affiliate Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, where she focuses on integrating Indigenous knowledge into global catastrophic risk governance.
In addition to her academic work, Elena serves as President of APECS (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists) - Ireland. She is also an Advisor to the Board of the Arctic Youth Network (which spans Canada, the US, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia), and a Special Guest Editor for The Yearbook of Polar Law.
Upon joining the CCJHR, she will lead the new Indigenous Rights cluster, which compliments the Centre's existing expertise in ethnic minority human rights.