Cécile Aptel is Principal Advisor to the United Nations International, Impartial and
Independent Mechanism on Syria (IIIM), Professor of the Practice of International Law at The Fletcher School, Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, and Visiting Scientist at Harvard University. An internationally recognized expert in international law, human rights, and international
justice, she has held senior leadership positions at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, UNICEF, UNIDIR, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She has also advised successive UN High Commissioners for Human Rights and senior officials of major international criminal tribunals.
Professor Aptel played a key role in establishing landmark international accountability mechanisms, including the IIIM, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the Special Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and contributed to landmark jurisprudence, including the first international judgment on genocide. She has advised organizations including UNICEF, UNODC, and the International Center for Transitional Justice, where she founded the programme on children and justice. Professor Aptel is the author of more than 40 publications on international justice, human rights and child protection, and holds a PhD in International Law.
Cécile APTEL serves as Principal Advisor to the United Nations International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on Syria (IIIM). She is also Professor of the Practice of International Law at The Fletcher School, Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, and
Visiting Scientist at Harvard University. Previously, Professor Aptel served as Executive Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Deputy Director of UNICEF's Global Office of Research and Foresight, and Deputy Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). Earlier in her career, she was Director and Acting Under- Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
An internationally recognized expert in international law, human rights, and international justice, Professor Aptel has advised and worked closely with successive United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights, the Head of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), and the President of the ICTR. She has led major initiatives in accountability, rule of law, and transitional justice across the United Nations system and beyond. She has played a pivotal role in establishing several landmark international accountability mechanisms, including the IIIM, the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the Special Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has also participated in major international investigations, including in Lebanon for the UNIIIC and in Africa for the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.
Earlier in her career, she was among the pioneering legal professionals who helped establish the ICTY and ICTR. During a decade of service with these institutions, she contributed to several landmark judicial decisions, including the first international judgment recognizing and defining genocide.
