Suraj Girijashanker
Distinguished Graduate Fellow
Suraj Girijashanker is a Distinguished Graduate Fellow with the Promise Institute for Human Rights and doctoral student at UCLA School of Law. His doctoral project under the supervision of Professor E. Tendayi Achiume focuses on the nexus between race, empire and displacement. Suraj is currently an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School in India where he teaches international human rights law and international refugee law.
Prior to transitioning to academia, he served as a Legal Advisor with the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in New Zealand; Expert on Mission with UNHCR Turkey; Associate Refugee Status Determination Officer with UNHCR Egypt; and Legal Representative at Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in Papua New Guinea.
Suraj’s broader interests include sexual orientation, gender identity and the law. He is the author of the report “Activism and Resilience: LGBTQ Progress in the Middle East and North Africa”, based on findings from 40 in-country interviews in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia. Suraj holds law degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and Columbia Law School (CLS). He attended CLS on a Human Rights Fellowship and was awarded a Commendation for Leadership and Commitment in Human Rights by CLS’ Human Rights Institute for promoting diversity and greater representation in the field of human rights.