Daphina Misiedjan is a senior researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), where she joined the management team in July 2026. Her scholarship centers on the intersection of human rights law and environmental justice, with particular attention to how climate change and environmental degradation compound the vulnerabilities of already marginalized communities.

Misiedjan completed her Bachelor's degree in law at Utrecht University, spending a year on exchange in New Zealand where she followed several Bachelor's courses. She went on to earn her honors master's degree in legal research and her PhD, also at Utrecht University. Her doctoral dissertation, "Towards a Sustainable Human Right to Water: Supporting Vulnerable People and Protecting Water Resources, with Suriname as a Case Study," examined the legal dimensions of water access and sustainability. In recognition of its societal relevance, she received the 2017 Agnites Vrolik Prize, including a substantial research grant, as well as the 2017 Black Achievement Encouragement Award.

Prior to joining KITLV, Misiedjan was an assistant professor in Human Rights and the Environment at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. Earlier in her career, she held positions as assistant professor at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights and as a researcher at the Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law and the Utrecht University's Centre for Global Challenges. She was previously a 2020/2021 Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS), and was part of the NWO-funded "Islanders at the Helm" project.

Her current research addresses offshore oil developments in Suriname and their human rights implications, climate justice for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and environmental justice in Rotterdam. In November 2026, she will begin the project "Lost without a Trace? Capturing Immaterial Loss and Damage for Climate Justice," funded by an NWO Open Competition XS grant.

Misiedjan has been vice-chair of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) since April 2025. She also serves as an expert within the United Nations Harmony with Nature programme, and her publications appear in journals such as The Geographical Journal and International Journal of Human Rights, alongside edited volumes from Edward Elgar Publishing.

Selected Publications

Misiedjan, Daphina, 'Surinames offshore oil ambitions: Navigating human rights, climate change commitments and the risk of ecocide', The International Journal of Human Rights 1: 16, 2026. DOI. 

Bijl, J. & Misiedjan, D., 'Van uitsluiting naar inspraak: De betekenis van de Bonaire-uitspraak voor participatie en procedurele waarborgen', in: J. Zuure, H. Rienks, B. Taebi, F. Hendriks (eds.), Vuurproef voor democratie: Het klimaatvraagstuk als uitdaging voor democratie, rechtsstaat en bestuur. Walburg Pers, 2026.

Misiedjan, Daphina, 'Milieurechtvaardigheid', in: M. J. Wewerinke-Singh (ed.), Duurzaamheid en recht, pp. 279- 295. Wolters Kluwer, 2026.

Misiedjan, Daphina, 'Suriname: Stories of resistance and protest for justice and rights throughout history', in: The Oxford Handbook of International Law and the Americas. Oxford University Press, 2025. DOI. 

Misiedjan, Daphina, 'Separate but equal in the protection against climate change ? The legal framework of climate justice for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands',  Geographical Journal 1–12, 2022. DOI. 

Misiedjan, Daphina, Towards a sustainable human right to water. Cambridge University Press, 2019. DOI.

Misiedjan, D. & Palm, H., 'Papaja’s met peren vergelijken: Hoe de Nederlandse wetgever onderscheid maakt tussen Caribisch en Europees Nederland aan de hand van artikel 1 lid 2 Statuut', Caribisch Juristenblad 2-1: 19–29, 2012.

Flinterman, C., & Misiedjan, D., 'Dertig jaar VN-Vrouwenverdrag en Nederland', Nederlands Juristenblad, 34: 74–75, 2010.