Thijs Van Laer is IRRI’s Programme Manager: Prevention and Resolution of Exile. He manages IRRI’s work on the causes, consequences and prevention of mass human rights violations and refugee crises, by conducting research and advocacy on crisis situations in Sub-Saharan Africa and on the regional and international responses. Before joining IRRI, Thijs worked as a researcher in the Africa division of Human Rights Watch and as a policy officer with the coalition of Belgian NGOs – 11.11.11. In those roles, he conducted research and advocacy on the human rights situations in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thijs holds a LL.M. in International Law and a M.A. in International Relations.