Сергій

Serhii Melnykovych
[open contact info](look above in the "contact info" section) · [open contact info](look above in the "contact info" section) · LinkedIn*

Devoted, industrious, and equality-driven human rights lawyer and researcher with a practical and academic background in human
rights protection, the rule of law, migration and displacement, and minority rights

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Monitoring Department Manager | Researcher/ Consultant, Truth Hounds NGO | Remote | July 2024 — July 2025
ENG&UKR

Conducted thorough qualitative research on various legal, methodological, and technical topics;
Researched the problematic aspects of IHL, IHRL, and ICL and guided the team on their application;
Methodologically and substantially transformed monitoring activities of IHL/IHRL abuses per international standards;
Developed a comprehensive methodology for open-source war crimes monitoring activities;
Introduced an activity area of monitoring and analysing propaganda as potential evidence in the investigation of
international crimes and developed the corresponding guidelines;
Transformed, expanded, and strategically, technically, and administratively managed a team of 9 people;
Oversaw the NGO’s monitoring database and designed a concept of a technologically advanced war crimes monitoring
database;
Liaised with external actors, trained and mentored the team members, and contributed to advocacy efforts.

Researcher/ Consultant, the Parliament of Ukraine | Remote | ENG Jan 2024 — June 2024

Introduced an activity area of strategic civil liability litigation against private companies facilitators of atrocity crimes in
Ukraine and prepared the corresponding policy paper;
Developed a policy paper concerning the seizing of the frozen Russian assets across the Western states;
Addressed the pathways of redistributing the assets to aid the victims and facilitate the reconstruction of Ukraine.

GBV Focal Point | International Protection Lawyer, CF 'The Right to Protection' Aug 2020 — Aug 2021
(UNHCR's Executive Partner) | Kyiv, Ukraine | ENG

Researched human rights abuses and other relevant data and drafted/edited reports;
Managed strategic areas of preventing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV) as well as naturalisation;
Liaised with the relevant state actors and NGOs and carried out monitoring visits to train/exchange knowledge;
Interviewed asylum seekers daily and conducted refugee status determinations under the 1951 Refugee Convention;
Provided legal support for asylum seekers during the national asylum procedure.

Analyst, Regional Centre for Human Rights NGO | Kyiv, Ukraine | UKR&RU June 2019 — Aug 2019

Researched and analysed human rights violations in Crimea and the illegitimate court decisions justifying them;
Monitored forced displacement from the peninsula;
Drafted reports based on the findings.

Human Rights Lawyer, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union | Kyiv, Ukraine | UKR&ENG Sep 2017 — July 2019

Monitored and researched human rights abuses against internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other minority groups;
Drafted international reports, lawsuits, and appeals;
Interviewed and provided legal support to IDPs, migrants, queers, and other discriminated communities;
Drafted recommendations for the parliament and the government of Ukraine on the implementation of the Global
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act legislation.

*underlined text contains links
 EDUCATION
LLM in International Human Rights Law, Lund University | Sweden | ENG Aug 2021 — Aug 2023

Fully funded by the Swedish Institute Scholarship for Global Professionals. All courses and thesis passed with distinction.

International Humanitarian Law;
General and equality-focused International Human Rights Law courses;
International Criminal Law;
Critical theories and advanced human rights research;
Master thesis: 'Sexualized and gendered bias in the ECtHR jurisprudence: How the bias distorts the access of people of
diverse sexualities, genders, and sex characteristics to their rights' (through queer theory).

Master of Laws Exchange Programme, Sciences Po Paris | France | ENG Aug 2019 — Jan 2020

Public International Law;
Armed conflicts and global security law;
Comparative legal reasoning;
Legal English and French.

Master of Laws, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy | Ukraine | ENG &UKR Sep 2018 — June 2020

GPA: 91/100.

Contemporary issues of European Law;
Methodology of legal research;
Master thesis: 'Establishing marriage equality as a way of protecting human rights within fundamental principles of law'.

Bachelor of Laws, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy | Ukraine | UKR&ENG Sep 2014 — June 2018

Supervisory mechanisms for human rights protection;
Theory of International Law.

KEY COMPETENCIES
- Legal drafting - Vulnerability and risk assessment - Critical thinking and problem solving
- Advanced research methodology - Academic writing and editing - Critical theories and theory of change
- Analytical skills - GEDI mainstreaming - AI-led monitoring automations
- Liaising and advocacy - Policy development - Adaptability

LANGUAGES
Ukrainian Native English C2
Spanish B2 French A2
Russian B2

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
The CEELI Institute's summer school for lawyers 'Legal skills in a time of war'— 07/2022;
UNHCR training on trauma-informed displacement lawyering and sexual and cultural sensitivity — 08-11/2021.

REFERENCES
Dr. Dmytro Koval, Co-Executive Director of Truth Prof. dr. Jessica Almqvist, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of
Hounds, direct supervisor Law, former Director of the LLM in International Human
Rights Law at Lund University