Judith Sunderland

Judith Sunderland, associate director for Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division, has covered a wide range of human rights issues and has a particular expertise in migration and asylum policy as well as discrimination and intolerance.

Her recent work has included research and advocacy on EU asylum policy, including migration cooperation with Libya; boat migration and deaths of migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean; racist violence in Italy and Greece; police abuse affecting minority youth in France; and the impact of Spain’s housing crisis on immigrants and women heads of household.

Sunderland previously worked in Human Rights Watch’s women’s rights division, covering Latin America. Before joining Human Rights Watch, Sunderland worked as a UN human rights observer in the UN Mission in Guatemala, and as a journalist covering Central America. Sunderland is a graduate of Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs and the University of Chicago. She speaks French, Spanish, and Italian.