Our Team

Diane is the Acting Director of the IHRP and teaches a clinical course on international human rights advocacy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. She is an international human rights lawyer with more than three decades of experience working in some of the world’s most complex humanitarian contexts. Her work has focused extensively on refugee protection and human rights, with particular emphasis on advancing the rights of women and children. Throughout her distinguished career with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Diane has held senior leadership roles across Asia, Africa, and Europe. From 2013 to 2018, she served as Deputy Director of UNHCR’s Europe Bureau and Head of Operations for the Syrian refugee emergency. Prior to that, she held senior management roles in Nepal and Sudan. Most recently, Diane led UNHCR’s global efforts to address sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as sexual harassment, and has continued this work as an independent expert. Beyond the UN, Diane has worked for leading human rights and civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, and worked in academia at the Law Faculty at the University of Oslo. 

Diane holds a BA from the University of Western Ontario, and both an LLB and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Toronto. Diane is also an alumn of the IHRP.

Sandra is the Director of the IHRP and teaches a clinical course on international human rights advocacy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. She is an international human rights lawyer with experience in nearly every region in the world. In South Africa, she appeared alongside counsel of the late Nelson Mandela at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry to secure reparations arising out of a devastating police massacre. She also worked for the UN in Cambodia prosecuting members of the Khmer Rouge regime for genocide. Most recently, she worked for five years in Haiti partnering with the country's leading human rights lawyer to secure remedies for survivors of the UN-introduced cholera epidemic and peacekeeper sexual abuse. She has been periodically called upon to observe trials around the globe to ensure compliance with international human rights law. 

Sandra received her Masters of Laws from Leiden University, and her J.D. and Honours BA in International Affairs from the Universities of Windsor and Toronto. Her thesis explored the accountability of multinational corporations operating and sourcing from volatile areas. She publishes regularly on non-state actor accountability and extraterritorial obligations and speaks at various venues around the world, including Cornell, Harvard, Sorbonne, and the UN Human Rights Council. Sandra has appeared in the Guardian, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Vice News, and TVO. Sandra articled with Gowling WLG. She speaks both official languages and is admitted to practice law in Ontario.

Nabila is a human rights lawyer specializing in international law, business and human rights, and workers’ rights. As a Research Associate with the IHRP, Nabila contributes to the Program’s research, litigation, and advocacy efforts on a broad range of human rights issues, including corporate accountability. Her work involves collaborating with communities, civil society organizations, and advocates in Canada and globally to advance accountability for human rights abuses linked to corporate activity, including in global supply chains and extractive industries. 

Prior to joining IHRP, Nabila practiced employment and human rights law in Toronto, litigating contentious human rights cases within the Canadian context. Outside of law practice, Nabila has collaborated with NGOs in Canada, the United States, and Bangladesh to enhance international supply chain transparency and address human rights issues within the global garment supply chain. She has also worked with the Business and Human Rights Unit at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Nabila received her Master of Laws from Columbia Law School, her J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School, and her Honours BA in Political Science and Communication Studies from McMaster University. She is currently a part-time lecturer at Lincoln Alexander School of Law. 

Estefanía is the Program Coordinator of the IHRP, where she supports the administration of the program including events, outreach, and coordinating the work of Working Groups, Fellows, and the Rights Review. Estefanía has experience in the administration of academic programs at the University of Toronto, where she has worked to deliver meaningful global work-integrated learning experiences for students. Prior to joining the University, she also worked with Canadian international development organizations, including in program development and Monitoring and Evaluation. This includes work in Colombia, supporting the implementation of the gender equality strategy of a rural development project to promote gender equity and the prevention of gender-based violence in rural communities.

Estefanía received both her Master of Arts in Human Geography and her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations, with a minor in Latin American studies, from the University of Toronto. Her master’s thesis explored the history of agrarian and land conflicts in Colombia from a feminist perspective. Specifically examining the role of peasant women in the peasant social movement and how gender has shaped the rural development policies of the Colombian state. Estefanía is fluent in English and Spanish.