Professor David Cantor

Professor David Cantor, Ph.D., is the founding Director of the Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) and the Internal Displacement Research Programme (IDRP) at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. With a background in social anthropology, he has extensive experience as a practitioner, having served as a Legal Officer for the Refugee Legal Centre and as a Senior Advisor to UNHCR. His research focuses on refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the dynamics of displacement due to disasters and conflict, with fieldwork conducted in Latin America since 1998. Professor Cantor has published seven books and over 30 journal articles and book chapters, and has organized more than 100 RLI conferences and workshops. His contributions to the field have been recognized with the Times Higher Education Award for Research Project of the Year in 2017–2018. He also co-runs the distance-learning Master's program in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies, aiming to equip students with practical knowledge and skills in this critical area of law and policy. Through his work, he has advised various governments and NGOs on refugee protection issues, making significant contributions to both academic research and practical policy development.