{"id":1277,"date":"2025-12-09T12:22:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277"},"modified":"2025-12-09T12:23:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:23:03","slug":"sheila-paylan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277","title":{"rendered":"Sheila Paylan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

Sheila Paylan <\/strong>is an international human rights advocate and war crimes investigator with nearly 20 years of experience advancing accountability, the rule of law, and survivor-centered justice in conflict and post-conflict settings. As a legal advisor to the United Nations, she has worked across multiple regions on international criminal law, gender-based violence, and mainstreaming human rights in policy and practice.\u00a0Now based in Yerevan, Armenia, she regularly advises international organizations, NGOs, governments, and think tanks on human rights and governance, with a particular focus on democracy and peacebuilding in the South Caucasus. She holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Psychology and a Bachelor of Civil Law\/Juris Doctorate (BCL\/JD) from McGill University, as well as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) specializing in public international law from the University of London.\u00a0Sheila\u2019s contributions to both academic discourse and mainstream media are extensive, marking her as a respected thought leader and authoritative voice on human rights issues. She writes the\u00a0Unleashed<\/em>\u00a0column for EVN Report and contributes regularly as a public speaker, translating complex legal norms into clear, actionable insights for audiences around the world.\u00a0Drawing on field experience and years inside multilateral institutions, she equips communities and decision-makers to pursue durable peace grounded in law, justice, and human dignity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sheila Paylan is an international human rights advocate and war crimes investigator with nearly 20 years of experience advancing accountability, the rule of law, and survivor-centered justice in conflict and post-conflict settings. As a legal advisor to the United Nations, she has worked across multiple regions on international criminal law, gender-based violence, and mainstreaming human […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1273,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1277","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nSheila Paylan - Democratic Security Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sheila Paylan - Democratic Security Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sheila Paylan is an international human rights advocate and war crimes investigator with nearly 20 years of experience advancing accountability, the rule of law, and survivor-centered justice in conflict and post-conflict settings. As a legal advisor to the United Nations, she has worked across multiple regions on international criminal law, gender-based violence, and mainstreaming human […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democratic Security Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100088850526858\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-09T12:23:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2096\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@demsecinstitute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277\",\"name\":\"Sheila Paylan - Democratic Security Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-838x1024.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-09T12:22:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-09T12:23:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2096,\"height\":2560},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Members\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=288\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Members 2025\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1273\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Sheila Paylan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democratic Security Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Democratic Security Institute\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/New-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/New-logo.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"Democratic Security Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100088850526858\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/demsecinstitute\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sheila Paylan - Democratic Security Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sheila Paylan - Democratic Security Institute","og_description":"Sheila Paylan is an international human rights advocate and war crimes investigator with nearly 20 years of experience advancing accountability, the rule of law, and survivor-centered justice in conflict and post-conflict settings. As a legal advisor to the United Nations, she has worked across multiple regions on international criminal law, gender-based violence, and mainstreaming human […]","og_url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277","og_site_name":"Democratic Security Institute","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100088850526858","article_modified_time":"2025-12-09T12:23:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2096,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@demsecinstitute","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277","url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277","name":"Sheila Paylan - Democratic Security Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-838x1024.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-12-09T12:22:55+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-09T12:23:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sheila-Paylan-Headshot-2024-scaled.jpeg","width":2096,"height":2560},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1277#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Members","item":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=288"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Members 2025","item":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1273"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sheila Paylan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/","name":"Democratic Security Institute","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#organization","name":"Democratic Security Institute","url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/New-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/New-logo.jpg","width":700,"height":280,"caption":"Democratic Security Institute"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100088850526858","https:\/\/x.com\/demsecinstitute"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1278,"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1277\/revisions\/1278"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}