UBC Alumnus appointed to United Nations University Centre

Dr. Obi Aginam (’02) was recently appointed the Director of Studies, Policy and Institutional Frameworks, Peace and Governance Programme to the United Nations University Centre, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Aginam was born in Isuofia, Anambra State during the Nigerian civil war and holds law degrees from the University of Nigeria, Nigerian Law School and Master of Laws from Queen’s University at Kingston, and a Ph. D from UBC Law

Prior to his new position, Dr. Aginam held a tenured academic position as Professor of Law at Carleton University. In 1999-2001, he served as Global Health Fellow and Legal Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, where he worked on legal and regulatory approaches to global health governance. Dr. Aginam has held numerous fellowships including the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) of New York Fellow on Global Security and Cooperation (2003-2004), and Fellow of the 21st Centure Trust, U.K. (2004).  He has been a visiting professor and has given seminars on significant global issues at several renowned universities around the world.

In addition, Dr. Aginam has served as international law consultant for a number of national and international agencies.  He is an active member of the Academic Council on the United Nations Systems (ACUNS), and presently serves on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL).  He is the recipient of the competitive research grant of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada. Dr. Aginam’s works have been published in multiple international journals and chapters in edited books. Dr. Aginam’s new task at the U.N. University involves leading, coordinating and directing research on the governance of emerging global issues that are U.N. relevant and currently under-researched, in partnerships with a network of scholars and universities across the world.