Obijiofor Aginam, United Nations University, Nigeria

Obi Aginam was educated in Nigeria and Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Laws [magna cum laude] from University of Nigeria; Master of Laws from Queen's University at Kingston, Canada, and a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, Canada. Before joining UNU, he held a tenured academic position as Associate Professor of Law at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada where he taught and researched emerging global issues that cut across globalization, global governance of health and environmental issues, South-North relations, international organizations, and Third World Approaches to International Law [TWAIL].

Dr. Aginam has held numerous research fellowships including the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) of New York Fellow on Global Security and Cooperation, and Fellow of the 21st Century Trust, U.K. He has been a visiting professor of international law/global governance/human rights at the University for Peace, Costa Rica, and universities in Italy, South Africa, Japan, and Nigeria. He has been a recipient of the competitive research grant of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.  He is the author of numerous academic publications including Global Health Governance: International Law and Public Health in a Divided World (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005); Humanizing Our Global Order: Essays in Honour of Ivan Head (University of Toronto Press, 2003). Dr. Aginam is an active member of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) and was appointed co-director of the 2009 ACUNS summer workshop on “Global Public-Private Partnerships”. In addition to his academic work, he has worked with numerous African civil society organisations on human rights, public health, sustainable development, and environmental advocacy.

Including the excluded in global politics

In April 2011 BGD held an international workshop on including the excluded in global politics. The workshop brought together academics, activists and policymakers from around the world and generated lively debates and new understanding on how to identify and overcome exclusion. Obi acted as a Chair at the workshop and discussed Bui Wei's paper on 'including children in global politics'. A summary of the workshop is available now together with video clips, daily updates, photos & biographies of all the participants. Further publications will be produced over the coming months.

 watch the videos 

 see the photos

 Read more about: 

 rio workshop | workshop summary | including the excluded project

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