Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh

Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh is the Director of the Africa Programme at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). ICJ is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1952 with a mandate of defending human rights and the rule of law worldwide. Kaajal is a South African lawyer based in Johannesburg and has worked in the human rights sector for 20 years. She was the Executive Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre from 2015- 2020. At SALC she led many strategic litigation cases those focussing on various human rights issues and in particular judicial independence, rule of law, international criminal justice, freedom of expression and association. Prior to that she was the Programme Manager of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights from 2002- 2014. At Lawyers for Human Rights, she oversaw three law clinics nationally providing advice and assistance to refugees and migrants, provided assistance to persons in immigration detention and started up a project focussing on Statelessness. She has significant experience and expertise in the fields of asylum and refugee protection, migration, citizenship, and statelessness. She also has experience in international criminal justice, SOGIE SC rights and freedom of expression. Kaajal has provided probono support on the boards of several non-profit organisations for many years.