Sylff Fellow Jan-Phillip Graf
Law/Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)
The ‘Best Interests of the Child Principle’ in the Context of International Migration Law and Policy
Article 3(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child asks the international community that “the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” This research project aims at analyzing the potential role of the best interests principle in international migration law. It first examines the meaning and application of article 3(1), before it moves to a comparative evaluation of different states’ implementation efforts. Next it analyzes the role of the best interests principle in policymaking and its everyday use by frontline actors dealing with child migrants. The project concludes with recommendations on how to effectively deploy the best interests principle to protect migrant children.
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger
About Jan-Phillip Graf
| 09/2020-09/2023 | Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Confl ict,Ruhr University Bochum (Bochum, Germany), Doctorate in International Law (Dr. jur.) |
| 09/2018-09/2020 | The Graduate Institute (Geneva, Switzerland), Master in Inter national Law (GPA: 5.68), Dissertation topic: “Explosive Investments - How International Law Regulates the Financing of Cluster Munitions” |
| 08/2019-12/2019 | Harvard Law School (Cambridge, USA), Semester abroad, Studies in human rights and counter-terrorism law |
| 10/2015-09/2018 | Dresden University of Technology (Dresden, Germany), Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (GPA: 1.6), Dissertation topic: “The Human Right to Water” |
| 08/2017-12/2017 | Boston University (Boston, USA), Semester abroad (GPA: 4.0), Studies in U.S. foreign policy and arms control law |
| 10/2011-09/2015 | Ruhr University Bochum (Bochum, Germany), Bachelor of Arts in History (pending, current GPA: 1.7), B.A. with two majors (graduation only possible after completion of a second major – currently postponed), Special program in which high school students can enroll in a regular degree program |
- Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders FellowshipFull PhD funding and leadership training from the Tokyo Foundation
- Scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation(Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes)
| 04/2019-08/2019 | International Law Commission (71st session), United Nations General Assembly (Geneva, Switzerland), legal research assistant to Amb. Dr. Hussein Hassouna (prepared statements, legal briefs, and represented the Ambassador in meetings) |
| 01/2018-03/2018 | Institute for International Law of Peace & Armed Confl ict, Ruhr University Bochum (Bochum, Germany),Research assistant (researched for & revised publications, published brief articles on humanitarian issues) |
| 10/2016-08/2017 | Institute of Mathematical Stochastics, Dresden University of Technology (Dresden, Germany), Tutor of basic and advanced statistics (prepared lectures, tutorials, and corrected exams) |
- “How Immune Is China Against Civil Lawsuits in U.S. Courts?,” Dresden Inter-national Affairs Review, 2020, accessed October 2, 2020, https://www.ddiar.de/post/how-immune-is-chinaagainst-civil-lawsuits-in-u-s-courts.“
- A Boom for Chemical Weapons in 2018,” Dresden International Affairs Review, 2018, accessed October 2, 2020, https://www.ddiar.de/post/a-boom-for-chemi-cal-weapons-in-2018
- “International Criminal Justice for Cambodia?,” Dresden International Affairs Review, 2018, accessed October 2, 2020, https://www.ddiar.de/post/internatio-nal-criminal-justice-forcambodia.
- “The Status of Human Rights in Russia,” Dresden International Affairs Review, 2018, accessed October 2, 2020, https://www.ddiar.de/post/the-status-of-hu-man-rights-in-russia.
- “Ost-Ghouta - das neue Aleppo?: Bewertung der humanitären Lage,” BOFAXE, 2018, accessed October 2, 2020, http://www.ifhv.de/documents/bofaxe/bofa-xe2018/504d.pdf.
- “Wirklich „one worst deals in history“?: Zur Zukunft des Atomabkommens mit Iran,” BOFAXE, 2018, accessed October 2, 2020, http://www.ifhv.de/documents/bofaxe/bofaxe2018/501d.pdf.
Katholische Kliniken Hagen (Hagen, Germany), COVID-19 Volunteer
- Assisted with setting up the COVID emergency unit (drafted multilingual patient guidelines and produced informative videos)
- Introduced a video call system for patients’ families
- Assisted at the reception desk with administrative and logistical tasks
Member of Sylff Mikrokolleg on Forced Migration, RUB, Bochum