Thomas Probert

Dr Thomas Probert has worked as a Research Consultant and a Special Adviser within the UN human rights system, both to the Special Rapporteur on summary executions and to the Human Rights Committee. He has also advised the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In addition to being a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria), he is a Research Associate at the Centre of Governance and Human Rights (University of Cambridge). He has also previously taught at the University of Oxford, the University of Johannesburg and the Geneva Academy.

His doctorate (Cambridge) focused on the history of the politics of human rights but he has subsequently published extensively on issues such as the death penalty, the use of force by the police, and the proper conduct of investigations into serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law. His most recent publication is the coedited Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Assembly (OUP, 2025).

Thomas is responsible for research on IHL violations and conflict dynamics.