Personal profile
Biography
Siobhán Wills joined the Law School and Transitional Justice Institute as Professor of Law n 2013. She was Course Director of the LLMs in Human Rights and Transitional Justice and Gender, Conflict and Human Rights until 2018. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority; a member of the International Law Association Committee on the Use of Force; and of the Royal Irish Academy Social Sciences Committee. Her research interests are protection of civilians, peacekeeping, and use of force.In 2015-2016, Siobhán was awarded a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship to research UN approaches to rules of engagement for peacekeepers that are not engaged in hostilities in an armed conflict. In 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 Siobhán received grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to make documentary films, jointly with Prof McLaughlin (QUB), about the legacy impact of use of force by peacekeepers in Haiti and in Brazil. Prior to her appointment at Ulster University Siobhán was a lecturer at University College Cork and Co-Director of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights. In 2013 she was the Ariel Sallows Visiting Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan. She has been a visiting fellow at Exeter College, University of Oxford; the Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, University of Oxford; Australia National University; the School of Advanced Studies, University of London; a Fulbright Fellow; a Hauser Global Fellow at the School of Law, New York University; a Fellow on the Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School.Her LLB is from the National University of Ireland, 2000; her LLM from Yale Law School, 2001; her DPhil from Oxford University, 2007.
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, Protection of Civilians: The Responsibilities of Peacekeepers, University of Oxford
1 Oct 2002 → 4 Jun 2007
Award Date: 4 Jun 2007
Master
15 Aug 2000 → 30 May 2001
Award Date: 25 Jun 2001
Bachelor, NUI Galway
1 Sept 1997 → 30 May 2000
Award Date: 8 Jun 2000
External positions
External Examiner, Irish Centre for Human Rights NUI Galway
1 Sept 2014 → 1 Sept 2018
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 5 Gender Equality
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Racialised Police Violence and States’ Obligation to Respect the Human Right to the Social, Psychosocial and Environmental Determinants of Mental Health
Wills, S., Cabral, D. & Terto Neto, U., 7 Oct 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Global Health Law.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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We Fight for this Land
Wills, S. & McLaughlin, C., 1 May 2025, (Published online) Mind the Gap, Border. Limits and Frontiers. Reid, A. & Surace, V. (eds.). Oldenbourg: De Gruyter, p. 51-61 10 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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‘Right now I want to scream!’: Using participatory film with communities in Haiti and Brazil in order to expose state violence and make connections across countries
Wills, S. & McLaughlin, C., 1 Jun 2025, Utopias of sustainability-The sustainability of utopias.: A multimodal intervention. Hammerling, C., Koensler, A. & Näser-Lather, M. (eds.). p. 148-168 21 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Downloads (Pure) -
Could Rights-Based Safeguards Make Stormont Functional?
Wills, S., McKeown, P., Smith, A., Holder, D., Deb, A., O'Connell, R., Campbell, E., Pierson, C. & Green, L., 15 May 2024Research output: Book/Report › Other report
66 Downloads (Pure) -
International Law Association Global Health Law Committee Report 2024,
Wills, S., 1 Jul 2024Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
Prizes
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Award of Merit: Documentary Feature 'Right Now I Want to Scream: Police and Army Killings in Rio - the Brazil Haiti Connection'
Wills, S. (Recipient) & McLaughlin, C. (Recipient), 29 Jan 2021
Prize
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Indo French International Film Festival: Best Documentary Feature Film 'Its Stays With You'
Wills, S. (Recipient) & McLaughlin, C. (Recipient), 1 Dec 2020
Prize
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Indo Global International Film Festival: Best Documentary Feature Film 'Its Stays With You'
Wills, S. (Recipient) & McLaughlin, C. (Recipient), 29 Dec 2020
Prize
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Port Blair International Film Festival: Best Documentary Feature Film ‘Right Now I Want to Scream’
Wills, S. (Recipient) & McLaughlin, C. (Recipient), 15 Nov 2020
Prize
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Rameshwaram International Film Festival: Best Documentary Feature Film 'It Stays With You'
Wills, S. (Recipient) & McLaughlin, C. (Recipient), 18 Nov 2020
Prize
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Representation of Past Atrocities: Enlightening the Past from the Present
Guembe, M. J. (Participant), Wills, S. (Participant) & O'Connell, R. (Participant)
29 Nov 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
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Reproductive Rights at Risk: Gender, Religion and Nationalism
Brysk, A. (Participant), Wills, S. (Participant) & O'Connell, R. (Participant)
13 Jun 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
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Climate Change, the Courts and the Rights of Children & Future Generations
Nolan, A. (Participant), Wills, S. (Participant) & O'Connell, R. (Participant)
10 Nov 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
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Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival – Film screening ‘Right Now I Want to Scream’
Wills, S. (Participant) & McLaughlin, C. (Participant)
1 Feb 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participating in a conference, workshop, ...
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Contemporary Challenges to Reproductive Rights in the US Courts
Wills, S. (Participant), Rea, L. (Participant), McMinn, J. (Participant) & O'Connell, R. (Participant)
8 Dec 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
Press/Media
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Joao Paulo Charleux ‘How the peacekeeping mission in Haiti shapes the Army's action in Rio’
Wills, S. & McLaughlin, C.
15/01/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Aderson Bussinger, ‘Haiti Remains Here Too’, TRIBUNA da imprensa LIVRE
Wills, S. & McLaughlin, C.
17/11/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Caê Vasconcelos ‘Documentary connects police actions in Rio de Janeiro and occupation of the Army in Haiti’
Wills, S. & McLaughlin, C.
12/11/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Profiles
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Lingering Health Violence: Bridging micro and macro levels of support to communities in realising their right to health in post-conflict contexts
Hamber, B. (PI), Murray, C. (CoI), Dubras, L. (CoI) & Wills, S. (CoI)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
16/09/24 → 16/03/28
Project: Research
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Protection of Traditional Communities in Maranhão
Wills, S. (PI)
15/03/24 → 31/01/25
Project: Research