Federica D’Alessandra is the Deputy Director of the Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict (ELAC) and founding Executive Director of the Oxford Programme on International Peace and Security at the Blavatnik School of Government. She also serves on the Steering Committees of the Alfred Landecker Programme and the Oxford Network of Peace Studies, and is an Academic Affiliate of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.
Prior to joining Oxford, she held various appointments at Harvard University, focusing on mass atrocity prevention, transitional justice, national security, and human rights. Her research and policy work span international aggression, accountability for mass atrocities, new developments in international justice, and the role of technology in atrocity crimes documentation. She frequently advises governments, international organizations, and civil society, contributing to key initiatives such as the Rome Statute amendments, UN Draft Articles on Crimes against Humanity, the Berkley Protocol on Open-Source Investigations, and guidelines for evidence collection in conflict settings.
A recognized leader in international law and public policy, Federica serves as inaugural Co-Chair of the International Bar Association (IBA) Government and Public Lawyers Committee and Vice-Chair of its Rule of Law Forum. She sits on several boards, including at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon Skjodt Center, and has been honored with awards such as the William Reece Jr Award by LexisNexis and the IBA. Forbes has named her among the “30 Under 30” shaping law and policy, as well as one of Europe’s “Most Influential Thinkers.”
She holds degrees in Law, Criminology, and Political Science from institutions in Milan, Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Paris.