Joanne Neenan

Joanne Neenan is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Her research examines the intersection of gender and stigma associated with conflict-related sexual violence. She began her research as a Visiting Fellow at the Human Rights Program, Harvard University. In November 2016, she served as Rapporteur at the Wilton Park Conference, “Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative: shaping principles for global action to prevent and tackle stigma.”

Joanne is an international lawyer and diplomat. Formerly, she was head of the Peacekeeping, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention team at the UK Mission to the United Nations. Joanne and her team negotiated multiple UN resolutions, including on Women, Peace and Security. Her legal portfolios at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office included: the Middle East, Africa, cyber law, human rights, PSVI, UN peacekeeping and sanctions.

From 2009-2010, Joanne was a Teaching Fellow in Public International Law at SOAS. She has also guest lectured at the Universities of Oxford and Harvard.

From 2003-2006, she practised as a Media and Human Rights Barrister at One Brick Court chambers.

Joanne holds a B.A. in Law with French law (University of Oxford), aCertificat Supérieur de Droit Français (Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II)) and an LLM in Public International Law from LSE, where she was awarded the Lauterpacht-Higgins Prize in Public International Law. She was called to the bar in 2003. Currently, she is on sabbatical from the FCO.

Selected publications

• "International law and the continuum of gender-based violence," Women, Peace and Security blog, 6 April 2017.