Ms Irene is a Human Rights Advocate and an enrolled advocate of the High Court of Uganda. Her main research interests include issues of gender in different aspects of human rights including property rights, access to justice, informal and formal justice systems, legal pluralism, universality of human rights and customary law. She obtained her LLM in 2010 in International Law of Human Rights and Criminal Justice from Utrecht University. She has recently written a research working paper entitled Re-Envisioning Gender Justice In Access And Use Of Land Through Traditional Institutions, a Case for Customary Tenure of Land Ownership in Acholi Sub Region, Northern Uganda; In which she explores the extent to which the use of traditional institutions in land dispute resolution creates an opportunity for the protection of women’s rights to access and use of land held under customary tenure in Acholi Sub Region, Northern Uganda.

In addition to research work, Ms Irene is a practicing advocate and has over 6 years experience working with legal aid establishments providing legal advice and counselling to the vulnerable. Ms Irene has significant experience in administration of land rights and justice exploring both the formal and informal justice systems.

In the Trust Land project, Irene will be looking at the role of government institutions in land dispute resolution in northern Uganda; with a particular focus on customary tenure of land ownership. She will investigate the roles of government institutions and government legislation in intensification or mitigation of conflicts over land.

Selected publications:

Re-Envisioning Gender Justice In Access And Use Of Land Through Traditional Institutions, Danish Institute for Human Rights 2012.