Bonnie Docherty

Bonnie Docherty, senior researcher in the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, is an expert on arms and the protection of civilians during armed conflicts. Since 2001, she has played an active role, as both lawyer and field researcher, in the campaign against cluster munitions. Docherty was intimately involved in negotiations for the Convention on Cluster Munitions and has promoted strong implementation of the convention since its adoption in 2008.  Her in-depth field investigations of cluster munition use in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Georgia helped galvanize international opposition to the weapons. In 2010, Docherty contributed to Oxford University Press's comprehensive legal commentary on the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Additionally, Docherty has investigated the conduct of war and civilian casualties in Israel, Gaza, Iraq, and Libya, and she has advocated for stronger regulation of incendiary weapons. Most recently, Docherty has begun working on fully autonomous weapons, or "killer robots." Her report "Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots" outlines the threat these weapons would pose to civilians and calls for governments to ban them. The report is the first major publication on the topic by a nongovernmental organization.

Docherty is also a lecturer on law and associate director of armed conflict and civilian protection at the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School. Docherty received her bachelor's as well as her law degree from Harvard University.

Articles Authored

Other Writing

• Explosive Situation:Qaddafi's Abandoned Weapons and the Threat to Libya's Civilians