Bridging public health, transnational law, and human rights to advance health justice and promote global health equity
I’m Roojin (roo-zheen, she/her/hers)
I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law (Common Law Section), a Senior Visiting Fellow of the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health, and a Research Fellow of the Global Strategy Lab based at York University and the University of Ottawa. Bridging the fields of international law, health law and human rights, my current research program examines normative interpretation and change in global health law. My research has led to the convening of several international conferences as well as publications across a range of venues, including in journals of public health and medicine, law and social science reviews, commissioned reports, foundational law textbooks, and public news and media outlets.
I have a longstanding commitment to impact-driven research. In 2019, I was the lead author and rapporteur of the "Stellenbosch Consensus Statement on Legal National Responses to Public Health Risks," providing the first in-depth interpretation of the legal parameters governing the application of cross-border health measures under the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2005 International Health Regulations. This consensus statement developed with leading international law scholars and practitioners from around the world served as a catalyst for the formation of the "Global Health Law Consortium," a permanent research collaborative that I have helped shape since 2020.
Currently, I am closely studying ongoing negotiations to draft a WHO pandemic instrument and to amend the International Health Regulations. In 2022, I was appointed by the WHO Director-General to the Review Committee regarding amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005), providing technical recommendations to States on more than 300 proposed amendments to the Regulations. Alongside these roles, I have led consensus-building initiatives at the frontiers of health and human rights, charting a partnership between the Global Health Law Consortium and the International Commission of Jurists that culminated in the 2023 Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies.
I am a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar, a recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Award, and was elected by Lincoln Alexander School of Law’s Class of 2025 for the Contract Faculty Teaching Award. I am or have been a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on health research and advocacy projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Open Society Foundations, the United Kingdom Research Institute, and the Brocher Foundation.
I currently teach in the areas of public and constitutional law, and public and global health law. I hold a law degree (J.D.) from the University of Ottawa's French Common Law program, a specialization in transnational law from the University of Geneva, and a Master’s of Science in Global Health from McMaster University. I am also a Barrister and Solicitor in Good Standing with the Law Society of Ontario and fluent in English, French, and Farsi. For more updates on my work, connect on LinkedIn or find me on Bluesky at @roojin.bsky.social.
Publications
How do transnational institutions, norms and actors shape struggles for health equity and justice?
I study a range of public health law and policy issues to unpack this query.
My research strives to contribute both to empirical and theoretical academic knowledge, while embracing opportunities for creative collaboration and multisectoral partnership.
Most of my published work is available open access. To receive a copy of any that are not, please email me.
-
Roojin Habibi, Mark Eccleston-Turner, and Gian Luca Burci. The 2024 Amendments to the International Health Regulations: A New Era for Global Health Law in Pandemic Preparedness and Response? forthcoming in Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics (Special Issue).
Benjamin M. Meier, Alexandra Finch & Roojin Habibi. Global Health Law: Between Hard Law and Soft Law. forthcoming Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics (Special Issue).
Roojin Habibi. “Someone call a global health lawyer!” : Global health law as an emerging community of practice. 1 Journal of Global Health Law 1, 71-87.
Ben Brisbois (…) & Roojin Habibi. Pandemics, intellectual property and ‘our economy’: A worldview analysis of Canada’s role in compromising global access to COVID-19 vaccines. 19 Global Public Health 1: 2335360.
Adam R. Houston (…) & Roojin Habibi. Canada's role in covid-19 global vaccine equity failures. BMJ 382: e075149 (2023).
Lawrence O. Gostin (…) & Roojin Habibi. The World Health Organization’s 75th Anniversary: WHO at a Pivotal Moment in History. BMJ Global Health 8: e012344 (2023).
Carly Jackson, Roojin Habibi et al. Between rules and resistance: Moving public health emergency response beyond fear, racism and greed. BMJ Global Health (2022).
Lawrence Gostin, Roojin Habibi & Benjamin Meier. A global health law trilogy: Transformational reforms to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2022).
Steven J. Hoffman, Isaac Weldon & Roojin Habibi. A virus unites the world while national border closures divide it: Epidemiologic, legal, and political analyses on border closures during COVID-19. International Journal (2022).
Steven J. Hoffman (…) & Roojin Habibi. International Treaties Have Mostly Failed To Produce Their Intended Effects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022).
Lisa Forman & Roojin Habibi. Revisiting the Legality of Travel Restrictions Under International Law during COVID-19. International & Comparative Law Quarterly (2022).
Steven J. Hoffman, Pedro Villarreal, Roojin Habibi & Sophie Campbell. Mending Dispute Resolution under the International Health Regulations. International Organizations Law Review (2022).
Pedro Villarreal, Roojin Habibi & Allyn L. Taylor. Strengthening the Monitoring of States’ Compliance with the International Health Regulations. International Organizations Law Review (2022).
Benjamin Mason Meier (…) & RoojinHabibi. Travel Restrictions Amid COVID-19: Revising Global Health Law to Reflect Public Health Evidence. Bulletin of the World Health Organization (2022).
Roojin Habibi, Tim Fish Hodgson & Steven J. Hoffman. Failing Forward: How Human Rights Failures in COVID-19 Responses Might Help Inform the Development of International Human Rights Law. International Community Law Review (2022).
Alicia Ely Yamin, Stefania Negri & Roojin Habibi. Of Sea Monsters and Sandcastles: Revisiting International Legal Frameworks Regarding Public Health and Human Rights in Global Health Emergencies. Yearbook of International Disaster Law (2022).
Roojin Habibi.The COVID-19 Vaccination Race. 36 Maryland Journal for International Law 19 (2022).
Benjamin Mason Meier (…) & Roojin Habibi. The World Health Organization in Global Health Law. 48 Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 796-799 (2021).
Roojin Habibi et al. The Stellenbosch Consensus on Legal National Responses to Public Health Risks Clarifying Article 43 of the International Health Regulations. International Organizations Law Review (2020).
Margherita M. Cinà (…) & Roojin Habibi. The Stellenbosch Consensus on the International Legal Obligation to Collaborate and Assist in Addressing Pandemics: Clarifying Article 44 of the International Health Regulations. International Organizations Law Review (2020).
Sharifah Sekalala, Lisa Forman, Roojin Habibi & Benjamin Mason Meier. Health and Human Rights Are Inextricably Linked in the COVID-19 Response. BMJ Global Health 5: e003359 (2020).
Benjamin Mason Meier, Hanna Huffstetler & Roojin Habibi. Human Rights Must Be Central to the International Health Regulations. Health and Human Rights Journal (2020).
Lawrence O. Gostin, Roojin Habibi & Benjamin Mason Meier. Has Global Health Law Risen to Meet the COVID-19 Challenge? Revisiting the International Health Regulations to Prepare for Future Threats. 48 Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 376-381 (2020).
Allyn L. Taylor & Roojin Habibi. The Collapse of Global Cooperation under the WHO International Health Regulations at the Outset of COVID-19. 24 American Society of International Law Insights (2020).
Allyn L. Taylor (…) & Roojin Habibi. Solidarity in the wake of COVID-19: Reimagining the International Health Regulations. 396 The Lancet 82-83 (2020).
Alicia Ely Yamin & Roojin Habibi. Human Rights and Coronavirus: What’s at Stake for Truth, Trust, and Democracy? Health and Human Rights Journal (2020).
Roojin Habibi et al. Do Not Violate the International Health Regulations During the COVID-19 Outbreak. 395 The Lancet 664 (2020).
Roojin Habibi. L’affaire Araya et l’accès aux recours civils fondés sur le droit coutumier international au Canada. 2 Philippe Kirsch Institute Global Justice Journal (2018).
Roojin Habibi & Steven J. Hoffman. Legalizing Cannabis Violates the UN Drug Control Treaties, But Progressive Countries Like Canada Have Options. 49 Ottawa Law Review 427 (2018).
Quinn Grundy (…) & Roojin Habibi. Decoding Disclosure: Comparing Conflict of Interest Policy Among the United States, France, and Australia. 122 Health Policy 509 (2017).
Roojin Habibi, Joel Lexchin, Barbara Mintzes & Anne Holbrook. Unwarranted Claims of Drug Efficacy in Pharmaceutical Sales Visits: Are Drugs Approved on the Basis of Surrogate Outcomes Promoted Appropriately? 83 British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2549 (2017).
Roojin Habibi. Regulating Information or Allowing Deception? Pharmaceutical Sales Visits in Canada, France and the United States. 44 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 4 (2016).
Christopher Mayes, Ian Kerridge, Roojin Habibi & Wendy Lipworth. Conflicts of Interest in Neoliberal Times: Perspectives of Australian Medical Students. 25 Health Sociology Review 256 (2016).
Steven J. Hoffman & Roojin Habibi. International Legal Barriers to Canada’s Marijuana Plans. 188 Canadian Medical Association Journal E215 (2016).
Roojin Habibi. Do Efficacy Claims in Pharmaceutical Sales Visits Vary by Approved Product Information or National Policy? Hamilton, ON: McMaster University (2015).
Roojin Habibi & Joel Lexchin. Quality and Quantity of Information in Summary Basis of Decision Documents Issued by Health Canada. 9 PLoS ONE 3: e92038 (2014).
-
Lisa Forman & Roojin Habibi. Towards Re-Imagining the International Health Regulations on Travel Restrictions. Pandemics, Public Health, and the Regulation of Borders (C. Flood, Y. Y. Chen, R. Deonandan, S. Halabi & S. Thériault (Eds.), New York: Routledge, 2024).
Roojin Habibi & Thana de Campos-Rudinsky. Commercial Determinants of Health: Corporate Social Responsibility as Global Health Policy? Global Health Law and Policy: Ensuring Justice for a Healthier World (L. Gostin & B. Meier (Eds.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023).
Sharifah Sekalala & Roojin Habibi. Global Health Law: Legal Frameworks to Advance Global Health. Global Health Law and Policy: Ensuring Justice for a Healthier World (L. Gostin & B. Meier (Eds.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023).
Benjamin Mason Meier, Ana Ayala & Roojin Habibi. Global Health Law. Public Health Law: Concepts and Case Studies (M. Ransom and L. Valladares (Eds.), Warren, MI: Springer Publishing, 2021).
Roojin Habibi & Steven J. Hoffman. Cannabis Legalization is the Inconvenient Test of Canada’s Commitment to the Rule of International Law and a Rules-Based World Order. High Times: The Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis in Canada (A. Potter and D. Weinstock (Eds.), Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019).
Roojin Habibi & Joel Lexchin. Canadians need to know more about the drugs we are taking. Communicating Health Policy (N. Roos, K. O’Grady, C. Tapp, S. Turczak & L. Jolivet (Eds.), Winnipeg, Manitoba: EvidenceNetwork.ca, 2014).
-
Roojin Habibi. To future-proof the WHO Pandemic Agreement, rethink the amendment clauses. EJIL:Talk! (November 2024).
Roojin Habibi, Luke McDonagh & Steven A. Solomon. Bridging the Gaps: Vaccine inequity in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, Volume 117 (October 2024).
Alexandra Phelan, Benjamin M. Meier, Roojin Habibi & Lawrence O. Gostin. Global health reform must continue amid new infectious disease threats. 386 British Medical Journal (August 2024).
Roojin Habibi. Historic amendments to the WHO’s International Health Regulations create a path towards an equitable pandemic treaty. The Conversation Canada (June 2024).
Timothy Fish Hodgson, Roojin Habibi & Alicia Ely Yamin. Conclusion to the Symposium: From Principles to Practice: Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies. Bill of Health, Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School (January 2024).
Benjamin M. Meier (…) & Roojin Habibi. A critical juncture for human rights in global health: Strengthening human rights through global health law reforms. PLoS Global Public Health (December 2023).
Roojin Habibi, Tim Fish Hodgson & Alicia Ely Yamin. Introduction to the symposium: From principles to practice: human rights and public health emergencies. Bill of Health, Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School (October 2023).
Adam R. Houston (…) & Roojin Habibi. An examination of Canada’s record on global vaccine equity is overdue. The Globe & Mail (July 2023).
Benjamin M. Meier, Roojin Habibi et al. Human rights challenges in the pandemic treaty negotiations. Geneva Health Files (June 2023).
Roojin Habibi & Clare Wenham. The world is running out of time to negotiate a global pandemic treaty. The Globe & Mail (April 2023).
Kelley Lee (…) & Roojin Habibi. The WHO’s international pandemic treaty: Meaningful public engagement must inform Canada’s negotiations. The Conversation (April 2023).
Kelley Lee (…) & Roojin Habibi. Guest Essay: Achieving Meaningful Canadian Engagement on the Pandemic Treaty. Geneva Health Files (April 2023)
Benjamin M. Meier (…) & Roojin Habibi. Advancing Human Rights in Pandemic Treaty Debates. Opinio Juris (December 2022).
Tim Fish Hodgson (...) & RoojinHabibi. Ten Human Rights Principles for a Pandemic Treaty. Civil Society Alliance for Human Rights in the Pandemic Treaty (April 2022).
RoojinHabibi. When Wars and Pandemics, the Whole World Loses. Open Canada (March 2022).
RoojinHabibi, Uchechukwu Ngwaba, Obiora Chinedu Okafor & Sanjay Ruparelia. The HIV/AIDS Crisis Showed Us How to Equitably Overcome a Pandemic. The Globe & Mail (January 2022).
Tim Fish Hodgson, RoojinHabibi, Benjamin M. Meier et al. Human Rights Must Guide a Pandemic Treaty. Health and Human Rights Journal (November 2021).
RoojinHabibi et al. Open Letter Signed by 200 Experts to the Government of Canada: Vaccine Equity and Booster Shots. Canadian Association for Global Health (September 2021).
RoojinHabibi, Steven J. Hoffman & Lisa Forman. Vaccine Booster Nationalism is Selfish and Reckless. Toronto Star (August 2021).
RoojinHabibi, Tim Fish Hodgson, Benjamin Mason Meier et al. Reshaping Global Health Law in the Wake of COVID-19 to Uphold Human Rights. Opinio Juris and Health & Human Rights Journal (June 2021).
RoojinHabibi & Joel Lexchin. The COVID-19 Vaccination Race: Why Wealthy Countries Like Canada Must Do More to Help Poorer Ones Get Across the Finish Line. Open Canada (March 2021).
Roojin Habibi et al. Harmonizing Global Health Law and Human Rights for Rights-Based Approaches to Global Health Emergencies. Opinio Juris (February 2021).
Benjamin Mason Meier, Roojin Habibi & Tony Yang. Travel Restrictions Violate International Law [Response to M. Chinazzi et al]. Science (March 2020).
Steven J. Hoffman & Roojin Habibi. Canada Should Not Join Other Countries in Instituting Travel Restrictions – or in Breaking International Law. The Globe & Mail (February 2020).
Roojin Habibi. Legalizing Cannabis: The International Drug Control Regime. Inter Alia: Faculty of Common Law Student Newspaper uOttawa (March 2017).
Roojin Habibi. Les Canadiens méritent d'en savoir plus sur les médicaments qu'on leur prescrit. Huffington Post Québec (April 2014).
Roojin Habibi & Joel Lexchin. Health Canada Dangerously Opaque When It Comes to Pharmaceuticals. The Toronto Star (March 2014).
Roojin Habibi & Joel Lexchin. We Deserve to Know More About Prescription Drugs. Huffington Post Québec (April 2014).
-
Roojin Habibi, Margot Nauleau & Courtenay Howe. Pandemics Start and End in Communities: Why Civil Society Participation is Crucial to the Governance of the Pandemic Accord. Geneva: Save the Children & StopAIDS (2023).
Roojin Habibi et al. Principles & Guidelines for Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies. Global Health Law Consortium and the International Commission of Jurists ( 2023).
Patrick Amoth (…) & Roojin Habibi. Report of the Review Committee regarding amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005). A/WGIHR/2/5. Geneva: World Health Organization (2023).
Roojin Habibi et al. How Should Canada Engage in the World to Protect the Health of Canadians? Canadian International Council (CIC), Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) & Global Canada (2021).
Maria Jose Alcala (…) & Roojin Habibi. We’ve Got the Power: Women, Adolescent Girls & the HIV Response. Geneva: UNAIDS (2020).
Emily Christie (…) & Roojin Habibi. Rights in the Time of COVID-19: Lessons from HIV for an Effective, Community-Led Response. Geneva: UNAIDS (2020).
Nicole Cvercko, Anna Jeffrey, Michelle Blom & Roojin Habibi. Legal Barriers to Humanitarian Intervention in Natural Disasters, in Global Health Law Clinic Publication Series (Steven J. Hoffman and Lathika Srinatharan, eds., Ottawa: Global Strategy Lab, 2017).
Public Engagement
Click below for a selection of my past speaking engagements at national and international conferences, as well as with print and broadcast news media. For opinion pieces written by me, please see Publications.
Keynote, Panel & Other Presentations
-
Pandemics, Public Health and Borders: Book Launch. 25 September. Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. Ottawa (Speaker, with YY Chen, Sam Halabi, Colleen Flood, Adam Houston, Emmanuelle Bernheim & Kumanan Wilson).
Transnational Health Law at the Human-Pathogen Nexus: A Sisyphean Odyssey. 24 September. Tauranga, New Zealand [virtual]. Te Piringa Faculty of Law, University of Waikato (Guest Lecturer).
Creating Equitable Access to Medicines: A Human Rights Case for Reparations. 11 September. Ottawa, Canada. Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa (Moderator, with Sharifah Sekalala).
“The World Together” in Pandemic Preparedness & Response [Side Event to the 2024 Global Health Security Conference]. 17 June. Sydney, Australia. (Co-Organizer, with Jeremy de Beer, Ayelet Berman, Luciano Bottini Filho, Lisa Forman, Chidi Oguamanam, Diego Silva, Pedro Villarreal).
Legal Responses to Disease Events. 20 June. Sydney, Australia. Global Health Security 2024. (Chair, with Martha Achan, Wendy Williams & Pedro Villarreal).
The Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies: A Practical Toolkit for Public Health Practitioners and Policy Makers. 18 June. Sydney, Australia. Global Health Security 2024 (Workshop Co-Host, with Luciano Bottini Filho).
The Future of the IHR: Reflections from the IHR Review Committee. 19 June. Sydney, Australia. Global Health Security 2024 (Panelist, with Clare Wenham & Aalisha Sahu Khan).
Human Rights Institutions in Public Health Emergency Management. Symposium on Designing a Regional Health Governance Approach. 29 April. Toronto, Canada. Lincoln Alexander School of Law (Speaker, with Uchechukwu Ngwaba).
Reforming Global Health Law to Ensure Human Rights in Global Health. 9 March. Los Angeles, United States. Consortium of Universities for Global Health 2024 Annual Conference (Speaker, with Benjamin M. Meier, Safura Abdool Karim & Sofia Gruskin).
Why the Right to Health is Essential for an Effective Pandemic Treaty: In- Person Roundtable Dialogue with Geneva Permanent Missions. 12 February. Geneva, Switzerland [virtual]. Global Health Hub and Civil Society Alliance (Speaker, with Sarah Collinson, Baba Aye, Lynn Gentile, Safura Abdool Karim, Benjamin M. Meier & Rossella de Falco).
-
Advancing Health Justice in a Turbulent World: A University of Ottawa Symposium Commemorating 75 Years of the WHO and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Faculty of Law (Common Law Section), University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada. 8 December (Host, with ICJ Canada, Global Health Law Consortium, Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, and ASIL Interest Group in Global Health Law).
Young Scholars’ Workshop. Canadian Yearbook of International Law & the International Law Group, University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada. 1 November (Commentator, with Godwin E. K. Dzah).
Making Rights Matter in Post-Pandemic Reforms. Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada. 5 October (Speaker, with Errol Mendes & Masud Husain).
The Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies: From Expert Consensus to Global Action. Center for Medical Ethics and Law, University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong. 22 August (Invited Speaker).
Human Rights 75 Roundtable – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 75: Looking to Future Generations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 26 June (Panelist, with Magdalena Sepùlveda Carmona, Jasmina Byrne & Andrew David Raine).
Reforming Global Health Law for Rights-Based Approaches to Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Department of Global and Public Health, McGill University. 14 June (Guest Lecturer, McGill Summer Institute on Pandemic Preparedness, Alert & Response).
Beyond Panic & Neglect – Building a Human Rights Framework for Public Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Geneva, Switzerland. 23 May (Host, with Graduate Institute Global Health Centre, Global Health Law Consortium & International Commission of Jurists).
Bridging the Gaps: Vaccine inequity in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. American Society of International Law’s 117th Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. 29 March (Moderator, with Steven Solomon, Luke McDonagh, Padideh Ala’i & Jelena Madir).
American Society of International Law 117th Annual Meeting: The Reach and Limits of International Law to Solve Today's Challenges. American Society of International Law. Washington, DC. 29-31 March (with Priya Pillai, Jennifer Permesly, Sergio Puig & ASIL Annual Meeting Committee).
International Law, Coloniality & Global Health. Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada. 22 March (Guest Lecturer, Deconstructing Racism - CML 4914)
From Crisis to Change: Charting a New Course for Global Health Through International Law. School of Public and International Affairs, Glendon College, York University. Toronto, Canada. 16 February (Guest Lecturer).
Concluding Workshop on the Principles and Guidelines for Human Rights & Public Health Emergencies. Fondation Brocher. Hermance, Switzerland. 17 – 18 January (Host, with Global Health Law Consortium and the International Commission of Jurists).
Equity Models for a Pandemic Agreement – WHO Collaborating Centre Support for New Coordinating Mechanisms. UNAIDS, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law & Foundation for National Institutes of Health. Geneva, Switzerland. 16 – 17 January (Discussant, with: Gian Luca Burci, Precious Matsoso Noor Nakibuuka Musisi & Stephanie Dagron).
-
Pandemics, Boundaries and the Law. The London International Boundary Conference. Volterra Fietta and King’s College London. 13 December (Panelist, with: Robert Volterra, Thana de Campos-Rudinsky, Olipa Jere, Anti Malhotra & Bhupinder Singh).
Empowering Graduate Students to Become Global Leaders: Practical Tips to Transform Learners into Innovators. 60th Annual Canadian Association for Graduate Studies Conference. 2 November (Panelist, with: Jasmine Mah, Prativa Baral, Tobias Gerhard Schminke & Michelle Liu).
Vaccine Passports: Considerations of Privacy, Security and International Coordination. Borders, Boundaries & Pandemics, University of Ottawa Centre for Health Law and Ethics. 22 October (Chair, with: Pedro Villarreal, Vivek Krishnamurthy & Michael Veale).
Centering Human Dignity and Rights in International Law’s Discourse on Public Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response. SSHRC Explore Grant Research Symposium on Adequate Preparedness and Response to Future Pandemics through the Creation of a Regional Framework for Health Governance within the Inter-American Human Rights System. 28 September (Invited Speaker).
Revising the Human Rights Guiding Principles on Public Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response: Deliberation of Regional Consultation Leads (‘Nairobi Summit’). British Institute in Eastern Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. 6-7 September (Host, with: Global Health Law Consortium and the International Commission of Jurists).
Global Health Law and Pandemics: From COVID-19 to a Pandemic Treaty? ICON-S. 5 July (Panelist, with: Aeyal Gross, Alicia Ely Yamin & Pedro Villarreal).
Human Rights in a Pandemic Treaty: Drafting Workshop. Hikma Summit of International Relations. 13 May (Workshop Expert, with: Timothy Fish Hodgson)
Reforming Global Health Law to Respond to Pandemic Threats. 30 March (Panelist, with: Benjamin Meier, Lawrence Gostin, Ana Ayala & Nithin Ramakrishnan)
Multilateralism in Flux. Canadian International Council Hamilton Branch. 16 March (Panelist, with: David Malone & Rory Nisan)
The International Legal System. Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice 16th Annual Student Conference. 31 January (Panelist, with: Uchechukwu Ngwaba, David Walders & Bryce Edwards)
Global Public Sociology Conversations: Global Solidarity and Cooperation, Human Rights and Vaccine Equity. York University Department of Sociology. 28 January (Panelist, with: Obiora C. Okafor, S Harris Ali & Sylvia Bawa)
-
Expert Consensus Conference on Human Rights Principles and Guidelines for Public Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Mantello, Italy. 22 – 23 November (Host, with: Global Health Law Consortium and the International Commission of Jurists).
Vaccine Apartheid & Canada’s Role in Global Health. LegalVoices Conference (Lincoln Alexander School of Law). 13 November (Panelist, with: Uchechukwu Ngwaba, Obiora C. Okafor & Sanjay Ruparelia).
Global Health Law in the Time of COVID-19: Towards Systemic Integration in International Trade Law, Human Rights Law and Global Health Law. Canadian Council of International Law Annual Meeting. 22 October (Chair, with: Tim Fish Hodgson, Katrina Perehudoff & Benjamin Meier).
Draft Principles on Human Rights for the Proposed Pandemic Treaty. Open Society Foundations. 14 October (Moderator, with: Tim Fish Hodgson, Alexandra Phelan, Rajat Khosla, Tlaleng Mofokeng & Benjamin Meier).
Precarity in a Time of Global Health Crisis: Reconciling International Legal Imperatives in Public Health, Human Rights, and Solidarity. Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town & Berkeley Center for Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law. 14 July (Keynote Address).
COVID-19 & cross-border health measures: Lessons learned and critical questions for the future of the International Health Regulations. Global Health Centre (74th World Health Assembly Side Event). 26 May (Panelist, with: Barbara von Tigerstrom, Lisa Forman, Diego S. Silva, Karen Grépin, Catherine Worsnop, James Wiltshire & Jason Win).
Pandemic, Inequalities, Human Rights, and Nation States: Analyzing the Impact of Globalization and Canada’s Role. Canadian International Council Winnipeg Branch. 15 April (Panelist, with: Alexander Reyes & Elisabeth Vallet).
From Revision to Revival: Transforming the International Health Regulations for a Pandemic Resilient Future. International Studies Association 2021 Annual Conference. 6 April (Panelist, with: Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, Isaac Weldon, Alexandra Phelan & Lisa Forman).
Roundtable Discussion on Global Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine. Maryland Journal of International Law. 2 April (Panelist, with: Emmanuel Oke, Diane Desierto & Anthony So).
Foreign Policy by Canadians: Global Public Health. Canadian International Council (CIC), Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) & Global Canada. 30 March 2021 (Panelist, with: Nadja Pollaert, Margaret Catley-Carlson, Nilima Gulrajani & Julia Anderson).
New Approaches and Lessons Learned in Inter-Governmental Pandemic Response Coordination. American Society of International Law 2021 Annual Meeting (Reconceiving International Law: Creativity in Times of Crisis). 26 March (Moderator, with: Funmi Olarunnipa Badejo, Thomas Bollyky, Lu Chuanying & Caroline Edwards).
Harnessing Global Health Law to Respond to Pandemic Threats. Consortium of Universities for Global Health 2021 Conference. 14 March (Panelist, with: Benjamin Meier, Lawrence O. Gostin & Sharifah Sekalala).
Health, Human Rights and Covid-19. University of Toronto International Human Rights Program, and Queen’s University. 24 February (Panel Expert)
Emerging into the Future: Trends in Law, Medicine and Technology Post-Pandemic. Center for Global Governance and Emerging Law. 18 February (Panelist).
Demystifying International Law: Speed Mentoring in International Law. Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. 29 January 2021 (Speed Mentor).
-
Human Rights in the Age of COVID. The Society for International Affairs (Trinity College Dublin). 26 November (Panelist, with: Michael O’Flaherty, Liam Herrick & István Hegedűs)
The International Health Regulations: Are They Working? O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law Colloquium. Zoom Teleconference. 11 November (Panelist, with: Gian Luca Burci, Allyn Taylor & Benjamin Meier).
What Would Everyday Canadians Want Canada To Do? Framing the Debate for Citizens. Canadian International Council. Zoom Teleconference. 9 November (Panelist, with: Valerie Percival, Nilima Gulrajani & Ben Rowswell).
Global Health Governance Post-COVID-19. Liberal Party of Canada Human Rights Caucus. Zoom Teleconference. 21 September (Panel Expert, with: Lawrence O. Gostin, Allyn L. Taylor & James Orbinski).
Human Rights Principles in Times of Public Health Emergency: A Proposal. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) – COVID-19 and Siracusa Principles. Zoom Teleconference. 12 June (Oral Presentation).
Devising Post-Pandemic Rights-Based Approaches to Global Health & Gender – SDGs 3 & 5. Zoom Teleconference. 15 May 2020 (Intervenor).
American Model World Health Organization International Conference: Refugee and Migrant Health. University of North Carolina Zoom Teleconference. 3-5 April (Panelist, with: Benjamin Meier & Gian Luca Burci).
-
Article 43 of the WHO’s International Health Regulations. Consensus Conference on Global Health Law. Stellenbosch, South Africa. 10 - 12 April (Oral Presentation and Discussion Facilitator).
-
Health Law in Research and Practice. Queen’s Health Law Association, Kingston, Ontario. 4 March (Panelist, with: Nareh Ghalustians, & John McIntyre).
2018 Calgary Luncheon Speaker Series: Cannabis. Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Calgary, Alberta. 30 November (Panelist, with Lorian Hardcastle & Jonathan Denis).
International legal dimensions of cannabis legalization: Reconciling national priorities with international obligations. McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy. Montreal, Québec. 26 - 27 April (Speaker).
-
Current and future roles of global health law. International Studies Association Annual Convention. Baltimore, United States. 25 February 2017 (Panelist, with: Susan Rogers Van Katwyk).
Disclosing financial relationships between physicians and industry: Proposal for a comparative policy analysis in Australia, France and the United States. VELiM Conversation. Sydney, Australia. 2 July 2015 (Oral Presentation).
Regulating the pharmaceutical sales visit in Canada, France and the United States: a comparative qualitative analysis of stakeholder opinions on regulatory effectiveness. Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research. Montreal, Québec. 26-28 May 2015 (Poster Presentation).
« La réglementation sur la visite médicale, qu’en pensez-vous? » Une étude comparant les opinions des informateurs clés sur la réglementation en matière de visite médicale en France, au Canada et aux États-Unis. Réncontres Prescrire. Paris, France. 2014 (Oral Presentation).
An analysis of the effect of clinical evidence and policy on the content of drug promotions. Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics National Student Conference. Hamilton, Ontario. 9 - 10 May 2014 (Poster Presentation).
Do promotions by pharmaceutical sales representatives vary according to the level of clinical evidence and national policy? A research in progress. Pharmaceutical Policy Research Collaboration Meeting. Ottawa, Ontario. 28 - 30 April 2014 (Oral Presentation).
Quality and quantity of information in Summary Basis of decision documents issued by Health Canada. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health Symposium. Gatineau, Québec. 6-8 April 2014 (Poster Presentation).
Select Press, TV & Radio Appearances
-
![]()
Human Rights in the Pandemic Accord
Quoted in BMJ News (4 June 2023)
-
![]()
Legality of Vaccine Mandates
Live TV Interview with CTV News (12 January 2022)
-
![]()
Global Vaccine Inequities
Quoted in The Toronto Star (17 February 2022)
-
![]()
Travel Restrictions in Global Health Law
Quoted in Health Policy Watch (26 May 2021)
-
![]()
International Law & Cruise Ship Quarantine
Live TV Interview with BBC News (19 February 2020)
-
![]()
Emergency Public Health Laws
Quoted in Global News (19 March 2020)
-
![]()
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
Quoted in York University News (3 December 2020)
-
![]()
Health Inequalities & COVID-19
Quoted in York University News (4 September 2020)
-
![]()
Cruise Ships & COVID-19
Quoted in The Guardian (18 February 2020)
Get in touch.
Whether you're a student, a reporter or otherwise looking to collaborate, I'd love to hear from you. I also welcome inquiries for pro bono consulting.
Or