Elaine Pearson

Elaine Pearson is the Acting Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, based in Sydney. She joined Human Rights Watch in 2007 and was formerly the Deputy Director of the Asia Division and the Australia Director. Pearson has conducted numerous human rights investigations in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world. Pearson writes frequently for a range of publications and her articles have appeared in the Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian, Foreign Policy and the Washington Post. 

Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Pearson worked for the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and London. She is an adjunct lecturer in law at the University of New South Wales, on the advisory committee of UNSW’s Australian Human Rights Institute and on the board of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. Pearson holds degrees in law and arts from Murdoch University and obtained her Master's degree in public policy at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. She is writing a book Chasing Wrongs and Rights to be published in 2022 by Simon and Schuster.