PHILOMENA CLEOBURY

Philomena Cleobury (Corpus, 1998) has recently been promoted to Assistant General Counsel at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She meets us in London on a short break from Geneva, where UNHCR is headquartered.

‘It is a real privilege as a lawyer to support UNHCR’s global operations to protect and support refugees and people forced to flee their homes. I have the opportunity to work with our colleagues in the field to find solutions against urgent timelines.’

QUAD wants to establish how Philomena progressed from a degree at Oxford to this prestigious role. Alongside the career track is the broader subject of the acute challenges faced by the UN and UNHCR in 2025. 

While at Corpus Christi College Philomena opted for Law with Law Studies in Europe, a variant of Oxford’s BA (Honours) in Jurisprudence that includes a year abroad.

‘I was part of the Erasmus programme. I could have studied Spanish law in Madrid, or French law in Paris, but what drew me to the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands, was the opportunity to study public international law.’

It’s a career tip and we’ve barely begun – seek out a point of difference and pursue it avidly.

What is public international law exactly, for the uninitiated?

‘It is the legal rules and principles which set out the international rights and obligations of states , and which regulate the operations of international organisations such as the UN. Within that are specialisations such as human rights, international criminal law, the law of the sea and so forth.’

But the truth behind this early-career pursuit is more compelling. Philomena says that her original motivation towards public international law was partly evidenced by an answer she gave to an interview question at Oxford.

‘It sounds idealistic, as no doubt it did in the interview, but it’s true. We had a family holiday to New York when I was 12. My parents took me to the UN Headquarters building and bought me a souvenir in the form of a children’s version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Under the declaration all rights are protected by the law, and all people are equal under the law. Over time, I was very struck by that. This idea that all rights rest on the law to protect them.’

This childhood experience inspired a determination to make an impact through the law. For further context Philomena, a Glaswegian, agrees that the cultural openness in which she was brought up in Scotland, and the fact that her parents were both teachers (her father taught French and Spanish and inspired in her a love of languages), put additional wind in her sails.

To get to her current role of Assistant General Counsel at the UN Refugee Agency is a tale of unstinting effort and clear-sighted but principled ambition. It began, auspiciously, with a paper job ad she says was pinned to a board at the Bodleian Law Library, the modern building on the approach to St Catherine’s College.

Ah, the days of paper.

‘It was for a research assistant position at the Law Commission. I carried out research there for the criminal law team in 2002-3, straight after Oxford. We were working to close a loophole identified by child protection bodies such as the NSPCC, regarding the safeguarding of children. It eventually became law in the Domestic Violence Act of 2005.’

The Law Commission is the bit of government that does the hard yards on new legislation, considering its feasibility and its potential for implementation.

After that, it was back to the Legal Practice Course (LPC) to become a solicitor at law firm Linklaters specialising in litigation and arbitration, with secondments to Linklaters’ offices in Madrid, Paris and New York. Along the way a Masters in Public International Law, with Distinction, at University College London.

The really big break was then joining the UN as an Associate Legal Officer, beginning January 2012.

‘The stars have to align. I joined through what is now the Young Professionals Programme (which still exists). You have to be under 32 to apply, and the UN has to be recruiting for your profession and your nationality. I still remember the thrill of walking into the UN Headquarters building to work in the Office of the Legal Counsel, having visited as a child all those years earlier.’

From there things went fast. Five years in New York, then a move to Geneva in late 2016; three daughters, who keep her busy outside of work. ‘In 2023 I was also seconded for a year to UNICEF’s legal team, which was a fantastic opportunity to work with one of our sister agencies.’

We switch to the world in 2025 in a week of enormous turbulence, the backdrop being US tariffs. The post-war international order, including the UN, is under significant pressure and scrutiny.

‘It’s a very challenging time. UNHCR is voluntarily funded, primarily from member states, but also through our national partners, private sector partnerships and individual donations. It is clear already that the brutal funding cuts across the humanitarian sector are putting millions of lives at risk. The consequences for refugees and forcibly displaced people are immediate and devastating. Decisions by member states to increase defence spending also need to take into account the interconnections between humanitarian aid, defence and security.’

Other threats come in the form, she notes, of misinformation about refugee movements. ‘The vast majority of refugees and people forced to flee their homes – over 122 million currently, globally – are hosted in poor or middle-income countries, mostly in a country neighbouring their own. If people have the opportunity to return home in safety and dignity, most will choose to do so.

‘In this challenging environment we must stay true to our values and our mandate under the 1951 Refugee Convention. UNHCR is here to protect the vulnerable, to protect displaced people. We are present in over 130 countries. We respond in emergencies, we protect children, we support education, and we protect and preserve the dignity of individuals facing displacement.

‘We work in many contexts which we cannot allow to become forgotten crises: the people of Sudan have endured horrific violence, and now famine and a cholera outbreak have struck the most vulnerable. UNHCR is on the ground there, meeting people forced to flee and providing them with life-saving support.’

She says that she is more determined than ever, now that the UN is under such pressure, noting that there is often a narrative of hostility towards displaced people, with refugees and asylum seekers becoming caught up in populist political arguments.

Cleobury is also a huge advocate of private sector support, noting that as a lawyer one is often at a unique intersection between public and private, with the opportunity to make a real impact. She highlights the outstanding pro bono work frequently carried out by law firms, rarely understood fully by broader public audiences.

‘I would highlight my former employer Linklaters in that regard,’ she says. ‘While I was at Linklaters I had the opportunity not only to work on some of the most interesting, challenging international disputes for their multinational clients, but also to work on a wide range of pro bono matters. And since I joined UNHCR, Linklaters have offered us incredible pro bono support, for example through the legal work to implement a groundbreaking blockchain digital wallet solution to support displaced people in Ukraine, which was shortlisted for the FT Innovative Lawyers Award. We now have excellent support from a wide range of law firm partners, including DLA Piper, with whom we are currently working on a major research project and event to promote financial inclusion of refugees and displaced people.’

Philomena highlights that assisting people forced to flee their homes through providing cash assistance is highly effective. ‘'Cash' may conjure up images of coins and banknotes but the reality is sophisticated, innovative, cost-effective and trackable. People should have the dignity to make their own decisions about what they need when they are displaced. And multiple studies have shown that people deciding what they need most and giving them the means to buy it is by far the most efficient way of doing things.’

Engaging with the private sector is a high priority for UNHCR, and Philomena highlights three main ways that the private sector can make a difference by partnering with the agency. ‘First, and ever more important in the current context is income: companies can unlock essential resources for UNHCR’s work by contributing financially or providing in-kind support. These contributions fund life-saving aid, shelter, education, healthcare and more, directly benefiting refugees and the communities that host them. Secondly, influence. Businesses can leverage their influence to raise awareness and advocate for policies that support refugees and displaced people. And thirdly, solutions: UNHCR partners with companies that can make a lasting difference by providing access to employment, training and upskilling, empowering refugees to rebuild their lives. I would love to hear from any Oxford alumni who are interested to support our work'.

‘The mandate of UNHCR – and of the UN itself – is even more compelling today than 75 years ago. In an age of great shocks, conflicts and displacement, UNHCR is more important than ever. We must not lose sight of this.’

Philomena reflects on her time at Corpus Christi College. ‘It was such a privilege to study there, to have tutorials with great teachers like Professor Liz Fisher and Professor Lucia Zedner, as well as to forge so many long-lasting friendships.’