Sarah Knuckey
Founding Editor
Sarah Knuckey (@SarahKnuckey) is an international human rights lawyer and associate clinical professor of law at Columbia Law School, where she directs the Human Rights Clinic and co-directs the Human Rights Institute. She was a Special Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions from 2007 to 2016. She has carried out fact-finding missions and reported on human rights and humanitarian law violations around the world, including in Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and the United States. Her investigations and legal and policy work address unlawful killings, armed conflict, sexual violence, corporate abuses, and assembly/expression rights. She has been an Adjunct Professor at NYU School of Law, and previously directed the Project on Extrajudicial Executions, and the Initiative on Human Rights Fact Finding, at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (NYU).
Areas of Expertise: International Human Rights, Extrajudicial Executions, Humanitarian Law, Armed Conflict, Sexual Violence, Drones
Selected Media Appearances
Radio
Drones: warfare in the 21st century – Radio National (Rear Vision)
Online
U.S. drone strikes may constitute war crimes – Salon
8-Year-Old Girl on Drones: ‘When They Fly Overhead I Wonder, Will I Be Next?’ – The Atlantic
‘Terminator’ on hold? Debate to stop killer robots takes global stage – NBC News
Why Drones Are Just a Sideshow – Esquire
Obama praised for releasing kill list memo but rights groups call for more – The Guardian
U.N. Panel to Investigate Rise in Drone Strikes – New York Times
Articles by this author:
Mass Graves in Ukraine Should Be Treated as Crime Scenes – and Urgently Secured
by Sarah Knuckey and Anjli Parrin
Apr 6th, 2022
Масові поховання в Україні слід розглядати як місце скоєння злочину – і терміново убезпечувати
by Sarah Knuckey and Anjli Parrin
Apr 6th, 2022
An Exercise in Doublespeak: Pompeo’s Flawed “Unalienable Rights” Commission
by Aya Fujimura-Fanselow, Jayne Huckerby and Sarah Knuckey
Jul 29th, 2020
Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic: An Online Event Series
by Sarah Knuckey and Jayne Huckerby
May 27th, 2020
Pompeo’s “Rights Commission” Is Worse Than Feared: 7 Concerns to Watch
by Jayne Huckerby and Sarah Knuckey
Apr 16th, 2020
Pompeo’s “Rights Commission” is Worse Than Feared: Part I
by Jayne Huckerby and Sarah Knuckey
Mar 13th, 2020
Trump’s “Unalienable Rights” Commission Likely to Promote Anti-Rights Agenda
by Jayne Huckerby, Sarah Knuckey and Meg Satterthwaite
Jul 9th, 2019
10 Priorities for Peace, Human Rights and Justice in Yemen: An Important Joint Statement From Country’s Civil Society
by Farea Al-Muslimi and Sarah Knuckey
Oct 24th, 2018
Justice Dept Must Open Criminal Investigation Into Potential War Crimes by U.S. Mercenaries in Yemen
by Ryan Goodman and Sarah Knuckey
Oct 16th, 2018
New UN Report Says All Parties to Yemen Conflict May be Responsible for War Crimes
by Rahma Hussein, Alex Moorehead, Sarah Knuckey and Radhya Almutawakel
Sep 7th, 2018
Just Security Authors and Yemeni Human Rights Leaders Detained–now Released–by Saudi-Led Forces
by Ryan Goodman and Sarah Knuckey
Jun 18th, 2018
“Resources for Resilience”: New Site Launched to Promote Resilience & Mental Health in the Human Rights Field
by Sarah Knuckey and Meg Satterthwaite
Jun 8th, 2018
Academics and NGOs Call on Celebrities and Business Leaders to Condemn Saudi Abuses in Yemen
by Radhya Almutawakel, Rahma Hussein, Sarah Knuckey, Alex Moorehead and Baher Azmy
May 24th, 2018
Time to Dust Off the War Crimes Act?–for an American ex-soldier now in command of UAE forces
by Rebecca Hamilton and Sarah Knuckey
May 9th, 2018
New Series: Perspectives from Impacted Countries
by Rahma Hussein, Sarah Knuckey, Jameel Jaffer, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Alex Moorehead, John Reed, Waleed Alhariri and Suraj Kandath Girijashanker
Mar 19th, 2018
Yemen Strike Raises Questions About Whether the US Follows Its Own Drone Rules
by Farea Al-Muslimi and Sarah Knuckey
Nov 15th, 2017
Six Reasons Why the US and Other States Should Support an Independent, International Inquiry on Yemen
by Radhya Almutawakel, Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih, Sarah Knuckey and Alex Moorehead
Sep 26th, 2017
Global Group of Civil Society Organizations Raise Concerns about U.S.-led Drone Export Initiative
by Alex Moorehead and Sarah Knuckey
Sep 14th, 2017
Nikki Haley is Wrong to Boast About Peacekeeper Budget Cuts: A View From the Central African Republic
by Sarah Knuckey, Anjli Parrin, Abdoul Aziz Sali, Lewis Alexis Mbolinani and Baptiste Martin
Jul 20th, 2017
Pentagon Admits Major Investigation Flaw: They Rarely Talk to Air Strike Witnesses or Victims
by Sarah Knuckey, Ole Solvang, Jonathan Horowitz and Radhya Almutawakel
Jun 29th, 2017
Civil Liberties and Human Rights Groups Urge Ambassadors on the UN Security Council to Support Yemeni Civil Society
by Sarah Knuckey and Rahma Hussein
May 10th, 2017
US Government Concludes no “War Crimes” in Kunduz Strike, But Fails to Explain Why
by Sarah Knuckey, Anjli Parrin and Keerthana Nimmala
Apr 29th, 2016
Amid Calls for UN Investigation Into Kunduz Strike, US Senator Suggests that the UN Does Not Investigate Taliban Abuses. He’s Wrong.
Oct 6th, 2015
The UN Human Rights Council Supports Yemen’s “National Inquiry,” but Is It a Whitewash in the Making?
Oct 2nd, 2015
We Need a Full, Transparent Review of the US Targeted Killing Program
by Sarah Knuckey and Hina Shamsi
May 4th, 2015
Ten More Strikes the Obama Administration Should Immediately Acknowledge and Investigate
by Sarah Knuckey, Balqees Mihirig, Bassam Khawaja and Surya Gopalan
Apr 28th, 2015
Three Quick Thoughts on the Drone Strike in Pakistan That Killed Two Innocent Civilians
Apr 23rd, 2015
Call for Papers: Columbia’s Human Rights Law Review & Human Rights Institute
by Sarah Knuckey and Bassam Khawaja
Mar 17th, 2015
Women We Want to See at This Year’s Aspen Security Forum
by Megan Graham, John Reed and Sarah Knuckey
Mar 5th, 2015