Mohammad “Musa” Mahmodi

Musa is a Research Fellow in Law at the Schell Centre for International Human Rights at Yale Law School. His research and work focuses on accountability, transitional justice, victims’ participation in criminal proceedings, justice reform and minority rights. Musa is also a Yale World Fellow 2020. Before coming to Yale, Musa was a human rights defender and lawyer based in Kabul, Afghanistan. He served as Executive Director of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission for ten years, providing strategic direction for programs and activities to monitor, protect, and promote human rights in a conflict-affected country. As part of his work, he focused on transitional justice, women's rights, children's rights, human rights education, and investigations of human rights violations and abuses. Musa also advocated to reform Afghan laws and policies in compliance with international human rights instruments.  He previously worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, where he led and ran programs strengthening democracy and political parties in Afghanistan. Musa holds a law degree from Kabul University and in 2007 was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University for his Master’s degree.