Julie Hunter is a Senior Legal Advisor for ICNL’s Asia & the Pacific program, focused on safeguarding civic space and public participation across Asia. Her expertise centers around protecting rights and marginalized groups in regulatory frameworks related to civil society, resource governance, and climate change.

Prior to joining ICNL, Julie was based in Asia-Pacific, leading projects as an attorney for Blue Ocean Law on indigenous rights, environmental protection, and deep-sea mining. While based in Bangkok, Julie worked on business and human rights issues in Thailand and Myanmar with FORUM-ASIA, Amnesty International, and Chulalongkorn Faculty of Law. Julie also served as a supervising attorney for the Allard Law International Justice and Human Rights Clinic at the University of British Columbia, overseeing investigations on land grabbing and mining in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Julie has consulted for various human rights institutions, including the Council of Europe Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. She is the author of influential publications on deep-sea mining, climate, and labor trafficking, which have led to regulatory improvements in the United States and Pacific Island countries.

Julie holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. from Harvard University. She is a member of the New York Bar.