Speaker Profile
Dr. Koldo Casla
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing
Dr. Koldo Casla (United Kingdom) assumed his function as Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, on 1 May 2026.
He is a Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights Law at Essex Law School, and he leads the 'Human Rights Local' project at the Human Rights Centre of the University of Essex.
Between 2017 and 2019, Dr. Casla was a Research Associate at the Institute of Health & Society of Newcastle University, working on legal pathways to enhance the legal status of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the United Kingdom. From 2016 to 2019, he was the Policy Director of Just Fair, leading the organization’s research, strategic communications, partnerships and campaigning on economic and social rights. Earlier, from 2011 and 2013, he worked as Chief of Staff of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Basque Country (“Ararteko”). Prior to his appointment, Mr. Casla carried out several consultancies, including for the OHCHR, UNHCR, Amnesty International and others, collaborating with multiple international, national and local NGOs.
He holds a PhD in European and International Studies from King’s College London (2017), a Fulbright MA in International Studies from the University of Denver (2011), a MA in Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex (2009), and a Law Degree from the University of the Basque Country (2008).
Dr. Casla is author of more than 30 publications in international relations, international law and human rights, particularly socio-economic rights, including "The Social Right to Property: Social Function and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar 2026), "Politics of International Human Rights Law Promotion in Western Europe: Order versus Justice" (Routledge 2019), and co-editor of "Social Rights and the Constitutional Moment: Learning from Chile and International Experiences" (Hart 2022) and “The European Social Charter: A Commentary, Volume 3” (Brill 2024).
Dr. Casla holds citizenship of the United Kingdom and Spain. He speaks English, Spanish and Basque, and has working proficiency in French.