Rahma Hussein

Rahma Hussein, is a lawyer specializing in international human rights and international criminal law. Prior to joining Columbia Law School’s Project on Counterterrorism, Armed Conflict and Human Rights, Rahma worked at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) where she was responsible for RFKHR’s litigation and advocacy case work in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This included engaging in all stages of the proceedings before the African Court and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in cases involving civic and political participation.

Rahma has also worked as a Deans Fellow for Professor Diane Orentlicher at American University Washington College of Law conducting research on transitional justice issues, as a Research Fellow for the War Crimes Research Office, in the Legal Vice Presidency Group at the World Bank, the Center for Justice and Accountability, and Human Rights First.

Prior to law school, Rahma served for over two years as Project Coordinator and Legal Investigator with African Rights in Kigali Rwanda, where she worked with victims and survivors of the Rwandan genocide, collaborated with international and local prosecutors, and consulted with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international studies from the University of Chicago. She is fluent in Somali, and has advanced proficiency in French. Rahma is currently awaiting admission to practice law in the state of New York.