Robert A. Destro

Professor of Law at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Experts Meeting: The Home and Displaced People
Working Paper | The Concept of ‘Home’ in Human Rights Discourse with Special Reference to the Needs of Displaced People

Robert A. Destro Professor of Law at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. He has been a member of the CUA Law faculty since 1982, served as Interim Dean from 1999-2001, and as Director of the University’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies from 2017-2019. His government service includes the United States Commission on Civil Rights (Commissioner, 1983-89); Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (September 2019-January 2021), and Special Representative for Tibetan Issues (2020-21). As Assistant Secretary, he led the State Department’s worldwide policy and foreign assistance programs on human rights and democracy issues such as free and fair elections, Internet freedom, and the growth of the surveillance state.  His work on labor issues focused on State Department and inter-agency efforts to ensure that business supply chains do not include goods or services produced by slave or forced labor.  As Special Representative for Tibetan Issues, he was responsible for collaboration and consultation with the Central Tibetan Authority and the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the governments of India, Nepal, and other regional powers in South Asia.  Since leaving the State Department, he has served as an advisor to in trade and human rights issues in East Asia, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa.