Bonnie Docherty

Bonnie Docherty is the senior arms advisor in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch. Since 2001, she has done extensive work in the field of humanitarian disarmament as a lawyer, field researcher, and scholar. Bonnie was deeply involved in the negotiations of the 2022 Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. She continues to work on the implementation of these instruments and to expand their reach.

Bonnie has investigated the conduct of war and civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Gaza, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, and Ukraine. Her many publications have helped shaped arguments for a new treaty on autonomous weapons systems, and she has spearheaded efforts to strengthen international law on incendiary weapons.

Bonnie is also a lecturer on law at the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School and director of its Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection Initiative. In that capacity, she played a key role in the negotiations of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, providing legal advice to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

Bonnie received her bachelor’s as well as her law degree from Harvard University.