Dr. Seun Solomon Bakare is an academic and a public international law practitioner. At ISLA,he is an Asserting Contested Rights (ACR) Managing Lawyer, committed to ensuring that individuals and groups can claim and enjoy rights often denied or unrecognized due to legal, social, or political contexts. His work focuses on challenging discriminatory practices, advocating for the recognition of underrepresented groups, and advancing rights through litigation, legal reform, and activism. He manages ISLA’s network of lawyers on the Asserting Contested Rights Programme.

Seun has extensive experience as a lawyer, having represented clients before numerous international and regional tribunals, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the ECOWAS Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court (ICC). His previous roles include Director of Programs at Amnesty International in Nigeria, where he oversaw research, campaigns, and advocacy. He was CEO at Leicester LGBT Centre. He also served as Head of Human Rights at Pride in London and worked with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the ICC at various times. As an academic, he is widely published and has lectured as well as carried out research in various universities across Europe, North America and Africa.

He holds a Ph.D. in international criminal law and global justice from Leiden University in the Netherlands, an LLM in human rights and democratization from the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, and a Bachelor of Laws from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria. He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and he leverages his vast expertise in public international law, LGBT+ rights and human rights advocacy to make change happen.