Prof. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe is a lawyer and an international consultant with expertise in migration law and policy and international human rights law. She is Professor of Law at Babcock University, Nigeria, and founder of the non-profit, Centre for Health Ethics Law and Development (CHELD).

A leading migration and human rights expert, she has been involved in the development of national policies on migration in Nigeria such as the Action Plan for Nigeria’s Migration Policy, National Diaspora Policy, etc. She has supported the development of human rights and survivor-centred approaches across various work in the migration space, including in irregular migration and forced migration. She has worked to build the capacities of actors in migration including prosecutors, law enforcement, judges and other criminal justice sector operators as well as border management officials. She has also led the identification of current human rights gaps in migration management, and victims-centred approaches training for civil society organisations providing support to victims of trafficking (VOTs), addressed the intersections of migration, health, climate change, gender-based violence and impacts on migrants’ rights, and facilitated high level workshops on migration, amongst other work. She regularly works on migration governance and international human rights matters for international organisations, including the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), GIZ, etc.

She leads CHELD’s activities as a think-tank working at the intersections of migration, human rights, gender and health. Most recently, CHELD has supported the African Union Commission on building capacities of Member States on improving universal health coverage of migrants and supporting understanding of the intersections between migration and health. It is currently working with IOM to support service providers in the delivery of human rights based and survivor-centred support to victims of trafficking in Nigeria. It also provides support for internally displaced persons in Nigeria.

She holds a doctorate degree in law from Dalhousie University, Canada. She has a First Class degree in law from the University of Nigeria. She is the recipient of several awards, scholarships and fellowships.