Sejal’s fellowship with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is in the area of UK foreign policy.
Strategic area
Building a secure and resilient world
Government host department
FCDO
Fellowship focus
The fellowship aims are threefold:
- To provide ongoing advice to FCDO and other government departments, particularly the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Advice focuses on the development of UK foreign policy on disinformation and the manipulation of information more generally, especially in multilateral contexts (for example, the UN human rights bodies).
- To establish exchange and networks between FCDO colleagues, academics, non-governmental organisations and UN actors working in the area.
- To develop a paper to giving advice on the development of the FCDO strategy on the basis of international law, especially human rights law, focusing on information technologies and international development.
Expected outputs (publications, activities)
Expected outputs include:
- ongoing advice on disinformation and international law, especially international human rights law
- developing or feeding into submissions of UK FCDO to UN consultations on disinformation (notably, the June and July call for submissions to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression) and related issues (for example, advice on positions of UK government on hate speech at UN General Assembly, or on regulation of digital platforms at UNESCO)
- a considered advice on what the international legal framework means for the development of the Information Threats and Influence Directorate (ITID) strategy
- organisation of events with key officials, for example:
- the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression to the FCDO in October 2022
- the expert meeting on responding to state-led information threats, manipulation and interference within an international law framework, co-organised with ARTICLE 19 in June 2023, which will inform the advice on ITID strategy
Methodological interests
Interests include:
- legal analysis
- qualitative analysis
- evaluation
Policy priority areas
Areas include:
- disinformation and information threats
- freedom of expression
- regulation of digital platforms
- content moderation
- hate speech
Areas of research interest
Areas include:
- international human rights law
- international relations
- international organisations
- freedom of expression
Opportunities seeking to collaborate
Topics include:
- disinformation
- misinformation
- information threats
- manipulation and interference
University
Cardiff University, previously The University of Sheffield
Contact
Visit: university profile or LinkedIn profile
Date fellowship awarded
2022