Staff Profiles

Professor Dianne Otto

Dr Dianne Otto is Director of the International Human Rights Law Program of the Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH) and inaugural Convenor of the University Of Melbourne Human Rights Forum. She teaches and supervises higher degree research candidates in the areas of human rights law and international law. Her research interests include utilizing feminist, postcolonial and queer theory to reveal the voices and interests that are marginalized or silenced by mainstream international legal discourse. She is currently researching peace and security issues from a feminist perspective, the implementation of economic and social rights in Australia, and the Australian Government’s present approach and attitude towards international law.

She has edited Special Editions of Third World Legal Studies (1998-99) on 'Postcolonialism and Law' and the Australian Journal of Human Rights (2004) on ‘Housing, Homelessness and Human Rights’ (with Phil Lynch). Recent publications include chapters in Vanessa Munro and Carl F. Stychin (eds), Sexuality and the Law: Feminist Engagements (2007) and Anne Orford (ed), International Law and Its Others (2006), and ‘A Sign of “Weakness”? Disrupting Gender certainties in the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325’ (2006) 13 Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 113-175.