Philip Alston

About/Bio

Philip Alston is the John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. Since 2014, he has been UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. From 2004 to 2010, he was UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions.

Recently Published

Vacancies at the ICJ: Yes, there is a special practice, and it has to cease

In Is There a Special Practice Antonios Tzanakopoulos has written a very learned post seeking to dispel the notion that there is an expectation on the part of states that a casual vacancy on the International Court of Justice caused either by the death or resignation of a sitting judge should result in the election of a…

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Attacking women’s rights and UN human rights mechanisms under the guise of principle

Grégor Puppinck’s response to critiques of the ECLJ’s report on financing for the UN human rights Special Procedures’ system is a masterclass in evasion. He entirely ignores Martin Scheinin’s analysis that shows the dishonesty and manipulation involved in the preparation of his report. His claim that my work as UN Special Rapporteur on extreme…

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The ‘scandal’ of foundation support for UN human rights Special Procedures

In July 2021 the European Centre for Law and Justice published a report entitled The Financing of UN Experts in the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. It is based on anonymous interviews and anonymous quotations, said to reflect interviews with 28 past or present Special Procedures mandate-holders. It purports to expose the links…

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