M. (Monique) van Cauwenberghe, LLM MA

Monique is a junior researcher and teacher with an interdisciplinary background of combined social sciences, health and law. Her areas of interest and expertise fall within the fields of human rights law, disaster law (climate disasters), health law, displacement and development. She holds a Double BA in Arts and Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies from the Australian National University. MA International Development Practice from Monash University. Graduate Certificate in Health and Human Services from the University of Melbourne and an LLM International Human Rights Law from the University of Groningen. Her LLM thesis was entitled: Climate Disaster Induced Displacement in Australia: An International Human Rights Framework for The Right to Mental Health and Freedom from Gender-Based Violence, and she is looking to develop this into a PhD project.

She is the coordinator of the Groningen Centre for Health Law (GCHL), including assisting with the organisation of the Summer School on Global Governance of Health Vulnerabilities in Africa in Tanzania. She is also the coordinator of the Global Scientific Network on Law and Tobacco (GCHL & University of Queensland). Since 2023, she is a junior researcher for the GCHL health-related dimensions of climate change, with a focus on health arguments (particularly addressing mental health and gender-based violence in displacement) in climate litigation.

She has held a teaching assistant position in social sciences qualitative methods at the RUG – Campus Fryslan, as well a student mentor role for the Minor ‘More Healthy Years’.

Monique values the intersections between research and practice and aims to continue to engage with both practice and research. Outside of research, Monique is a non-profit professional having held various roles. In particular, she has focused on addressing health literacy for migrant, refugee and asylum seeker communities in Australia. She has also held a position as program officer at the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.