Samantha joined the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) in September 2023 as a Research Associate and the Coordinator of the Generating Respect Hub. The Hub focuses on enhancing norms compliance in armed conflict through innovative socio-legal research. Samantha is currently a researcher on the Beyond Compliance Consortium research programme which aims to provide the empirical evidence, the conceptual framework, and actionable, actor-targeted strategies to prevent, reduce and respond to need and harm in armed conflict. Samantha is also a Researcher for the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict – a network that strives to end rights violations against children in war zones.
Samantha holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice with distinction from the University of York, and an LLB from Queen Mary University of London. Prior to joining CAHR, she built a career in human rights law practice for non-governmental organisations in Southeast Asia, specialising in civil and political rights, legal analysis, UN advocacy, and the Cambodian context.
Samantha was awarded the CAHR Scholarship for 2022/23 and in 2023 was a recipient of the Sam Pegram Human Rights Placement Award for commitment to reflexive human rights practice. In 2024, she received prizes for producing the highest graded LLM dissertation across York Law School, as well as graduating with the highest LLM average grade.