Research Interests
- Human Rights Remedies
- Sustainable Development
- Arts and Human Rights
- Indigenous Peoples' Rights
- Gender
B.F.A. (Honours) (York University), LL.B. (Osgoode Hall Law School), LL.M. (University of Ottawa), S.J.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science) (University of Toronto), M.B.A. (Queen’s University), of the Bar of Ontario.
Dr. Oonagh Fitzgerald is an international lawyer, artist and choreographer, Senior Fellow with the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, and President of the International Law Association of Canada.
Oonagh has had an extensive and varied career as a senior executive and international lawyer in the federal public service, providing strategic leadership in legal policy, advisory and litigation services in international law, national security, public law, human rights and governance at the following departments: Justice Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, National Defence and the Canadian Forces, and the Privy Council Office. For six years she directed the International Law Research Program at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, delivering policy relevant research and capacity building on pressing issues of international economic, environmental, intellectual property, Indigenous peoples’ and human rights law. She recently complete a term as Co-chair of the Canadian Environmental Domestic Advisory Group under the CETA.
She has taught in university programs of law, business, and international affairs, and has mentored many graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. She has written, edited and co-edited several books, essay series, articles, policy briefs and commentaries and presented as a keynote speaker and panelist at numerous national and international conferences and workshops on diverse international law topics including human rights, gender, Indigenous people’s rights, climate change, clean technology innovation, corporate responsibility, trade and investment. She recently edited the book Corporate Citizen: New Perspectives on the Globalized Rule of Law and coordinated the North American contributions to a 150th anniversary ILA project on the Future of International Law.
She is currently pursuing an INDI Ph.D. in Fine Arts at Concordia University using art and performance to decode and reimagine international law and governance, including building relations between the arts and human rights.