Jessica Dorsey J.D., LL.M.
Jessica Dorsey, J.D., LL.M., is an ICCT Associate Fellow, and an Assistant Professor of International and European Law at Utrecht University. She is also the Managing Editor of the international law weblog, Opinio Juris. Previously, she was a lecturer at the Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics honors program at the University of Amsterdam; a Senior Legal and Policy Officer at Rights Watch (UK); a Project Officer in the Humanitarian Disarmament department of PAX, where she was the Coordinator of the European Forum on Armed Drones; and a Researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, where she carried out research and advocacy related to human rights, counterterrorism and national security issues with a specific focus on the use and proliferation of armed drones. She is also a core member of the Transnational Academic Network for the Study of Armed Drones, based at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. At ICCT, her research concentrates mainly on foreign fighters and counterterrorism-related human rights issues. In 2017, the European Parliament contracted Jessica to publish a study outlining policy guidance for the use of armed drones for European Member States. She has also previously worked as and collaborated with the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism on a 2013 report on the civilian impact of armed drones.
Key Publications include:
Dorsey, J. “Towards an EU Common Position on Armed Drones,” European Parliament Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, Directorate B, Policy Department (2017).
Dorsey, J. and C. Paulussen. “Towards a European Position on Armed Drones and Targeted Killing: Surveying EU Counter-Terrorism Perspectives”, The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague 6, no. 3 (2015).
Dorsey, J. “Accountability and Transparency in the United States’ Counter-Terrorism Strategy”, Perspectives, The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague 6 (2015).
Dorsey, J. and C. Paulussen. “Boundaries of the Battlefield: A Critical Look at the Legal Paradigms and Rules in Countering Terorrism”, The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague 4, no. 3 (2013).
Entenmann, E., Van der Heide, L., Weggemans, D., and Dorsey, J. “Rehabilitation for Foreign Fighters? Relevance, Challenges and Opportunities for the Criminal Justice Sector”, The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism—The Hague Policy Paper (2015)
Follow Jessica Dorsey on Twitter @jessicadorsey.
The casualties caused by armed violence in Mali have increased fourfold between 2016 and 2019, with young people being among the most affected by the situation. Although many initiatives have been launched to prevent and counter violent extremism in Mali, there remains a gap in understanding the interplay of factors that lead persons—especially young people—to support […]
The latest publication in the Strategic Communication project, this paper details the role of citizen journalists reporting on Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. With primary source research and interviews with media, the author examines the challenges reporters in these areas face. This report is part of a wider project, led by the International Centre […]
This report offers a concise, comprehensive, and critical overview of the empirical findings available on the background and possible motivations foreign fighters. It focuses on the young Western men and women who became jihadist foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. The analysis compares thirty-four reports and academic articles published between 2014 and 2019. The analysis […]