Board of Directors

Prof. Dr. iur. Beate Rudolf has been Director of the German Institute for Human Rights since 1st January 2010. Prior to this, she taught for six years as a junior professor of public law and equality law at the Faculty of Law at the Freie Universität of Berlin and headed the sub-project "Völkerrechtliche Vorgaben für Governance in schwachen und zerfallenden Staaten" (International legal requirements for governance in weak and failing states) in the Collaborative Research Centre "Governance in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit" (Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood). Her research focusses on fundamental and human rights as well as principles of state structure under international law, European law and German constitutional law as well as from a comparative law perspective. Her more than twenty years of research and teaching in these areas (at the Universities of Bonn, Düsseldorf, Tulane Law School in New Orleans and the Freie Universität of Berlin) have been complemented by practical experience in human rights work, including during her legal traineeship at the Council of Europe's Directorate for Human Rights, as a representative of complainants before the European Court of Human Rights and in many years of voluntary work within the German Women Lawyers Association and the European Women Lawyers Association, of which she was Vice President until the end of 2011. In 2017, the Freie Universität of Berlin awarded her the Margherita-von-Brentano Prize "for her outstanding work in the field of human rights and women's rights in particular". From March 2016 to March 2019, she was Chair of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), the world association of national human rights institutions.

International law, European law, German and comparative constitutional law, with a special focus on fundamental and human rights, equality and non-discrimination as well as state structure principles and governance structures.

• German Women Lawyers Association (djb): Member of the Commission on Public Law, International and European Law (2004-2009), at the same time liaison officer of this commission in the commission "Arbeits-, Gleichstellungs- und Wirtschaftsrecht" (Labour, Equal Opportunities and Commercial Law) of the djb (2007-2009)

• European Women Lawyers' Association (EWLA): Board member 2005-2007, Vice-President (2007-2009), representative of the EWLA in the "Platform for Fundamental Rights" of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2008-2009)

• Member of the Advisory Panel of the Fundamental Rights Platform for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (civil society cooperation network) (May 2009-April 2010)

• Member of the European Commission's network of legal experts in the field of gender equality (since 2008)

• International Law Association (ILA): Member of the "Feminism and International Law" Committee (since 2006); Member of the "Non-State Actors" Committee (since 2008)

• Member of the Advisory Board of the Juristischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin (2004-2009)

• Member of the editorial board of: "Europäischer Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte. Deutschsprachige Sammlung (EGMR-E)", edited by Erika Engel and Norbert Paul Engel (since 2008)

• Auditor for Women in International Security Deutschland e. V. (WIIS.de) (since 2008)

• Member of the Executive Committee of the German United Nations Association (DGVN) (since 2017)

• [not affiliated with the university] Member of the University Council of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen Nuremberg (01/02/2019 - 31/01/2023)

Michael Windfuhr studied political science, German studies, geography and philosophy in Heidelberg and has been Deputy Director of the German Institute for Human Rights since 2011. In 2016 and 2020, he was elected as a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Since 2017, he has chaired the Business and Human Rights Working Group of the Federal Government's CSR Forum, which advises the Federal Government on all aspects of corporate responsibility. He has been Chairman of the Green Button Advisory Board since 2020.

Previously, he worked as head of the human rights team at Bread for the World (2006-2010) and held various positions at FIAN International between 1986 and 2006.

Universität Heidelberg: Bedeutungswandel der Menschenrechte - Anmerkungen und Beobachtungen zur Menschenrechtsarbeit angesichts aktueller Herausforderungen

Analysis/study: Safeguarding Human Rights in Land Related Investments

Stellungnahme: Menschenrechtsstandards verbindlich machen