The Faculty of Law congratulates Master of Human Rights student Atefeh Abedinpour who officially graduates with an MHR degree from the University of Manitoba on February 4, 2026. The Robson Hall community is pleased to shine a spotlight on her accomplishments and share a bit about her as we wish her all the best in her future career.
Notably, this is not Abedinpour’s first Master’s degree. Before joining the interdisciplinary MHR program at UM, she first obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s in public international law from Iran. With several years of experience as a lawyer and an academic background in international law, Abedinpour became increasingly interested in the intersection of multiple branches of law with human rights. In her previous thesis, she examined the role of space law and technologies in sustainable development and human rights, published in the International Institute for Space Law (IISL) in 2021. Her deep interest in international human rights and social Justice led her to pursue a Master’s degree in Human Rights.
In 2023, she began her studies in the MHR Program at the University of Manitoba, pursuing the thesis stream of the program with Dr. Nathan Derejko as her advisor, and was awarded an international graduate student scholarship.
Her MHR thesis is titled International Humanitarian Law under the light of the right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment: the role of human rights in the proportionality principle. Her work examines the role of the right to a healthy environment in developing existing legal provisions in international humanitarian law. Her research interests include social justice, public international law, the right to a healthy environment, and immigration and refugee law.
Through the MHR program, Atefeh gained a distinct perspective on both the theory and practice of human rights and social justice. She has actively participated in seminars and academic initiatives, demonstrating her interest in academic research and presentation. In her first year of study in human rights, she gave an outstanding presentation on the implementation of the right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment at the University of British Columbia (UBC) graduate conference. She has also contributed to different volunteer positions within the University of Manitoba to put her knowledge of human rights into practice.
Alongside her studies in the MHR program, she has worked in immigration law. Atefeh is passionate about human rights research and practice in Canada and pursuing a PhD in public international law.
