Ilhan Dahir is a senior foreign policy expert and researcher, currently serving with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Her work has shaped governmental and multilateral strategies on civilian protection, human rights, climate security, emerging technology, and atrocity prevention.

She previously served as Protection Lead at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, and as an expert at the Stimson Center, where she co-convened the Atrocity Prevention Study Group. Ilhan has also held positions at the International Peace Institute (IPI) and the African Union Mission to the United Nations, contributing to research on UN peacekeeping and African Union military operations.

A recognized voice on people-centered approaches to peace and security, she writes on integrating these frameworks into peacekeeping and tech-enabled atrocity prevention.

Ilhan is a Fulbright Scholar and a White House Champion of Change. She holds two master’s degrees in international relations and international development from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.