Rayhan Asat is an internationally recognized human rights lawyer, named in Vox’s Inaugural FuturePerfect50 as one of 50 visionary changemakers alongside Nobel-prize-winning scientists and Pulitzer-winning journalists. As a lawyer and policy expert, she works on many pressing human rights concerns, including the persecution of the Uyghur people in China and broader Asia-related human rights issues. Her tech policy research delves into the intersection of human rights and technology, disinformation, exploring surveillance mechanisms, AI governance, and relevant legal standards surrounding AI technology. 

 

Rayhan's human rights advocacy has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, BBC, Foreign Policy, The Hill, CNN, and many others. She has testified before the US Congress, the UK House of Commons, the Canadian House of Commons, the European Parliament, and the Lithuanian Parliament, and her policy recommendations have been adopted by respective countries. 

 

For her human rights work, Rayhan was awarded the Stanford Democracy Fellowship and named a Yale World Fellow, a fellowship awarded to sixteen exceptional leaders making a positive impact on the world. Since then, she has worked with the Yale Law School Orville Schell Center Human Rights Clinic for the past two years. A sought-after speaker, Rayhan has appeared at many global summits and forums, including the Summit for Democracy at the invitation of President Biden and the Jeju Forum at the invitation of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Last year, Rayhan also made a presentation at the World Ethical Data Forum on AI Ethics and International Laws.