Áquila Mazzinghy, Ph.D.
Researcher | Professor | Consultant | Lawyer
Humanitarian Photographer
Email:
Professional Skills
International Criminal Law
International Humanitarian Law
International Refugee Law
Public International Law
Humanitarian Photography
Research Interests
Human trafficking, children and armed conflict,
international crimes committed against children, children affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon, undocumented children, unaccompanied refugee children, due process rights of children, and religious persecution.
Combating violence against women and children worldwide
I am a Ph.D. in International Criminal Law (Koç University, Turkey, 2021). I also hold a Master's Degree in International Humanitarian Law from the Washington College of Law (Washington-DC, US, 2009). I have been a licensed lawyer in Brazil since 2012. In addition, I have worked as a lecturer and guest professor in several law schools since 2011. I teach courses in Public International Law, International Criminal Law, International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, and International Refugee Law.
My research primarily focuses on human trafficking, international crimes committed against children, children affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon, undocumented children, unaccompanied refugee children, due process rights of children, and religious persecution. My main goal in life is to combat violence against women and children worldwide and to ensure that justice is provided for the vulnerable and broken.
I am a member of the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars (GAHTS). GAHTS is committed to understanding the historical, political, structural, and cultural components of human trafficking and to producing research-guided advocacy papers to influence the global community. I am also a member of other anti-trafficking, anti-exploitation, and anti-forced labor organizations that coordinate global anti-trafficking responses worldwide.
I am also a humanitarian photographer. With my Photography career, I want people to see the suffering world, through the eyes of my lens. So, it is not photography for photography’s sake, but for what it can do in to change people´s lives. I use my storytelling skills to inform, provoke discussion, inspire action, and make this world a better place.
My long experience as a teacher and lecturer has helped me develop better techniques, tools, and strategies to transmit knowledge. I am passionate about helping people achieve their dreams through education and training. I am a natural motivator and influencer. I am very sensible, empathetic, compassionate, and always prompt to listen. I am a very organized and disciplined professional with a proven track record in achieving goals.
Main Publications
Upcoming Book – May 2023
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Beyond a reasonable doubt: Did the Islamic State commit genocide against Christians in Iraq?
Belgium: International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), 2023.
Publication in Law Journals – Blind peer review process
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. United Nations Framework on Terrorism and States Compliance to Security Council Anti-Terror Resolutions. Banja Luka Criminal Law Review. 2021. Click here to read it
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Please, Set Me Free! The Right to Challenge An Unlawful Detention: Scrutinizing The Practice of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. (2020) 5 Perth International Law Journal. Click here to read it
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Child-Friendly Justice Behind Bars: A Comparative Analysis of the Protection Mechanisms of the Rights of Arrested Children in the Practice of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and of the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights, American University International Law Review: Vol. 35 : Iss. 2, Article 6. Click here to read it
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Please, Hear My Cry: Judicial Interpretation of Children's Human Rights under the Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 43 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 35 (2020). Click here to read it
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Who cares about the rights of indigenous children? The problem of infanticide in Brazilian Indian tribes. Winter issue, Volume 22, of the Hastings Women's Law Journal –Hastings University, CA, U.S. v. 22, p. 17-54, 2011. Click here to read it
Book Chapter
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Liquid bodies in the postmodern era: A Critical Legal Studies approach to the problem of human trafficking. In: Elisha J. Dung; Augustine Avwunudiogba. (Org.). Human Trafficking: Global History and Perspectives. 1sted.London: Alabama University; Lexington Books, 2021, v. 1, p. 133-158. Click here to read it
Short Note
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. The Demarcation case of "Raposa Serra do Sol" Indigenous Land in Brazil." International Legal Studies Program Law Journal – American University. Washington-DC, US, May 2009.
Research Assistance
Research assistant for "Defining a case against an accused before the International Criminal Court: whose responsibility is?" Susana SáCouto; Katherine Cleary. War Crimes Research Office - International Criminal Court Legal Analysis and Education Project. Washington-DC, US, November 2009. Click here to read it
Research Papers
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Please, set me free! The right to challenge an unlawful detention: Scrutinizing the practice of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary detention. Paper presentation, panelist. AHRI Conference 2019. The Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI). September 7th, 2019. University of Potsdam, The Human Rights Centre. Potsdam, Germany.
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. A Hostile World for Children: An Assessment of Security Council Resolutions and Reports on Children and Armed Conflict. Paper presentation, panelist. 3rd Postgraduate Conference in International Law and Human Rights. June 17th, 2019, the University of Liverpool, School of Law and Social Justice, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
MAZZINGHY, Áquila. Please, Hear My Cry: Judicial Interpretation of Children's Human Rights under the Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Paper presentation, panelist. 8th International Students Symposium on Law and Global Issues: Law and Global Contemporary Challenges. April 26th, 2019, Koç University, Law School, Istanbul, Turkey.
Education
Ph.D. Degree (2016-2021)
Koç University – Law School
Istanbul, Turkey
Ph.D. Public Law | International Criminal Law
Consolidated GPA: 4,00
Masters Degree (2009)
American University Washington College of Law
Washington-DC, US
Master of Humanitarian and Human Rights Law
Law School (2002-2008)
Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Federal University of Viçosa)
Viçosa, Brazil
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B., equivalent to U.S. Juris Doctor degree)
Short Courses
Ruhr University Bochum – The Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)
Summer School ‘Humanitarian Action’: Humanitarian Crisis, International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Refugees and IDPs, Humanitarian Actors & Organizations, WASH
August 2019, Bochum, Germany.
Koç University – Office of International Programs
Summer Program ‘International Migration and the Crisis´: Cross-border movements of people, theories explaining international mobility, forced migration, migrant integration, governments' responses to the social, political and legal challenges raised by international migration, dilemmas facing policy-makers at both national and international level
July 2019, Istanbul, Turkey.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – Executive and Professional Education
Preparatory course on Radiological Emergency Planning: Terrorism, Security, and Communication
July 2017, Cambridge, US.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health & International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – HELP Course
Preparatory course on Humanitarian Disasters and Public Health: Management of Disasters in Humanitarian Crises; Protection of Displaced Populations; International Humanitarian Law (IHL); Refugee Law and Refugee Protection
July 2017, Baltimore, US.
American University Washington College of Law & The Netherlands Institute on Human Rights
Specialization in Humanitarian & Human Rights Law
2008 and 2009 Specialized Summer Program of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
May 26 - June 13, 2008 and May 25 - June 12, 2009. Washington-DC, US.