Kamel, Omar

Omar Kamel is a Doctor in Public International Law and Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris.

His doctoral thesis, "Mass Media & the Laws of War: the Concept and Practice of Legal Muting," supervised by Professor Jean d’Aspremont, presented a comparative empirical inquiry appraising how the media shape the public's understanding of legality by selectively focusing on, or framing issues with relevance to international law. By contrasting the coverage of wars in Iraq, Ukraine, and Gaza, his research reveals how the language of law and justice is selectively afforded to certain victims and violations, but denied to others.

His writings on the intersection between mass media and international law have sought to highlight the normalizing effect of news coverage on law, and have been published on legal outlets including Opinio Juris and Verfassungsblog.

Formerly a Visiting Scholar at Cornell Law School and an Aitchison Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, he has lectured courses and presented research seminars at universities in France, Japan, Turkey, and the United States, including Sciences Po Paris, École Normale Supérieure, Cornell University, Keio University, and Boğaziçi University. He was also a Political Humanities Fellow at Sciences Po, and organiser of the Private International Law as Global Governance (PILAGG) and Recitals research conferences. 

At the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, he supervised projects with the UN Special Rapporteurs for the Right to Adequate Housing, and for the Right to Judicial Independence for the Human rights, Economic Development, and Globalisation program. His contributions in civil and political rights at the Clinic include the UK & Canada Project on protecting Media Freedom from Counterterrorism and Public Order legislation, and the Tax Evasion and Environmental Corporate Accountability Project with the Sherpa Association.

He was previously a Legal Officer at UNESCO and INTERPOL, and was consulted by the UN Team of Experts for Rule of Law on the model legislative provisions for victims of conflict-related sexual violence.

Presentations of his research have featured discussions with Professors Noam Chomsky, Richard Falk, and Chris Hedges. With Professor Mohsen Al-Attar, he is the co-founder and editor of the Opinio Juris Podcast.

His analysis of U.S. foreign policy and armed conflicts is frequently relayed on French and Arabic media networks, such as the Radio France Internationale (Radio Monte Carlo), and Radio Méditerranée Internationale.

Degrees & Fellowships:

He holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s in Law from the Sciences Po Law School, specializing in International Law & Global Governance. He also holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and International Law, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. 

• Visiting Scholar, Cornell Law School
• Aitchison Fellow for Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University
• Political Humanities Fellow, Cercle des Humanités Politiques, Sciences Po Paris

Teaching:

• Role of Law in Global Governance
• International Law, Media, and Armed Conflict
• International Law and the Politico-Media Complex
• Human Rights, Economic Development And Globalization (Clinic) 

Fields of Expertise:

• General Public International Law
• Armed Conflicts & Humanitarian Law
• Human Rights Law
• Third World Approaches to International Law
• U.S. Foreign Policy

Contact: omar.kamel@sciencespo.fr