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Our Leaders
Our Leaders - These students, immersed in the Observatory's interdisciplinary curriculum, are developing expertise at the intersection of leadership and human rights. Through experiential learning, they gain practical skills and theoretical knowledge, becoming effective advocates prepared to navigate the complexities of human rights in practice.
Noël Kabeya
Noël Kabeya is a human rights researcher and activist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, currently in his second year of a PhD in Law at the University of Ottawa. He holds an LL.M. in human rights from the Université Grenoble Alpes (France) and a university diploma in international humanitarian law from the Université Côte d’Azur (France), and a law degree from the University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Noël’s doctoral research focuses on access to justice for victims of international crimes in post-conflict contexts, with case studies on the Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. From an interdisciplinary perspective, he is particularly interested in national models for combating impunity for international crimes and the role of international actors in facilitating access to justice for victims.
Professionally, Noël has taught full-time at the Faculty of Law of the Free University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), where he also represented the faculty and coached the winning team of the 16th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition held in Dakar, Senegal, organized by the Centre for Human Rights of the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) in collaboration with the Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis (Senegal).
Noël practiced as a lawyer at the Kinshasa/Gombe Bar for several years and is currently an assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa.
Alongside his teaching and legal practice, Noël has over 15 years of experience working with various development cooperation organizations, managing projects focused on human rights protection, civil society support, and capacity building for police and judicial institutions in the DRC.
As a dedicated human rights researcher and activist, Nöel sees his collaboration with the UN Observatory on Human Rights as an opportunity to deepen his knowledge of the UN human rights system, share his experiences, and expand his professional network. His particular interests lie in the protection of vulnerable populations in armed conflicts, especially women and children.
Among his distinctions, Noël has received several notable award and scholarships throughout his academic career, including the PhD Special Merit Scholarship from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, a Master's Scholarship from the University Grenoble Alpes Foundation, a scholarship from the International Centre for University Human Rights Teaching (CIEDHU) in Strasbourg, and the Rotary Club of Kinshasa Prize for Best Student of the Faculty of Law at the Université de Kinshasa.
Noël is fluent in French and has a professional proficiency of English.
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