Geertrui Daem
Biografie
Geertrui Daem is a PhD researcher at the Institute for Private International Law and the Migration Law Research Group. She is also a member of CESSMIR (Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees) and the Human Rights Centre. Daem obtained a Master's in International Law from Ghent University and Aix-Marseille, and she also holds an additional Master's in Conflict and Development Studies. Her research project, "Refugees in Identity Crisis – Interactions between Private International Law and Refugee Law," empirically investigates the complex legal problems refugees encounter regarding the recognition of their personal status. The research is conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ellen Desmet and Prof. Dr. Jinske Verhellen.
She began her career as an immigration lawyer before moving to Algeria and Kenya, where she worked as a Refugee Status Determination and Resettlement Officer for UNHCR. Subsequently, she applied her expertise in migration law at several Belgian NGOs, including Flemish Refugee Action and the Belgian Refugee Council.
Prior to taking up her research position, she served as an immigration expert for the Flemish Government's Agency for Civic Integration. Since 2018, she has been a teaching assistant for the Migration Law Clinic within the Migration Law Research Group. In October 2021, she commenced her PhD research.
Her primary interests lie in migration law, private international law, and human rights law.