September 10, 2026, NEW YORK – The Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute (HRI) and Smith Family Human Rights Clinic are delighted to welcome Dr. Maroun Maalouf as Supervising Attorney and Lecturer in Law at the Clinic and Associate Research Scholar at HRI. Dr. Maalouf brings extensive experience in international human rights law and advocacy, including with the United Nations, as well as experience in clinical education.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Maalouf to Columbia,” said Professor Sarah Knuckey, Faculty Director of HRI and the Clinic. “Drawing on his deep expertise in human rights practice and scholarship, he brings cutting edge advocacy work to Columbia, offering students unique opportunities to learn how to make human rights a reality in the face of rising authoritarianism and human rights backsliding.” 

Prior to joining Columbia Law School, Dr. Maalouf worked with the United Nations Office in Geneva and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as an Associate Legal Officer and Human Rights Officer. His work spanned international human rights, humanitarian, criminal, and public international law, with a focus on monitoring human rights violations, investigating the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, and developing cooperation frameworks with national jurisdictions, civil society, and intergovernmental organizations. 

Dr. Maalouf also has an SJD from Fordham Law School, on the intersection of legal theory and human rights advocacy, with particular attention to how non-conventional tools of international human rights law and “soft” international public law can advance equality for marginalized communities and Indigenous minorities. More broadly, his scholarship explores how international law can be used strategically to encourage states to uphold human rights standards, strengthen anti-discrimination protections, and advance equality, justice, and full citizenship.

At Columbia, Dr. Maalouf will work closely with Clinic students, colleagues, civil society partners, and international organizations on human rights advocacy and research. As a Supervising Attorney and Lecturer in Law, he will also contribute to the Clinic’s critical and experiential approach to human rights education, helping students connect international human rights law with the practical challenges of advocacy. Dr Maalouf will design and lead new clinic work on the rights of children in East-Timor, working with civil society partners to combat violence against children in East-Timor through a multi-sectoral framework.

“I am very delighted to join the Columbia Law School family,” Dr. Maalouf said. “I look forward to working alongside students, colleagues, and partners to advance human rights everywhere, and amplify the voices of marginalized communities.” 

Dr. Maalouf also brings experience and long-term commitment to clinical education. Previously, he taught at the Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic at Fordham, directing projects on juvenile detention, gender equality, domestic violence, and enforced disappearances. He conducted fieldwork with the Fordham clinic in Japan and Kenya.

Dr. Maroun Maalouf holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) and an LL.M. in International Law and Justice, cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law, where he studied as a Fulbright Scholar. He received his LL.B. from the University of Haifa Faculty of Law.

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The Human Rights Institute advances international human rights through education, advocacy, fact-finding, research, scholarship, and critical reflection. We work in partnership with advocates, communities, and organizations pushing for social change to develop and strengthen the human rights legal framework and mechanisms, promote justice and accountability for human rights violations, and build and amplify collective power.