“I am humbled by the opportunity to continue my public service journey in advancing human rights while also elevating voices of historically marginalized communities across the Middle East and North Africa," said Razi Hashmi.
Razi Hashmi, Class of 2025, was recently promoted to serve as the Deputy Director of Near Eastern Affairs within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and the Labor (DRL) at the US Department of State. In this role, he will oversee policy and staff covering human rights issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Recently, Department of State Secretary Antony Blinken released the 2022 Human Rights Report, a product of Razi's bureau that covers human rights violations in 198 countries. Watch the press briefing here and read the report here.
Razi is one of the many proud part time, evening students at GW Law, who also works full time. Since 2015, Razi has served in numerous roles at the State Department, including most recently as the South Asia Policy Advisor in the Office of International Religious Freedom. He began his federal career in 2013 as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Razi is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a Truman National Security fellow, and International Career Advancement Progeam (ICAP) fellow.
GW Law's Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies and Burnett Family Distinguished Professorial Lecturer in International and Comparative Law and Policy Rosa Celorio said, “we are so incredibly proud of Razi Hashmi and this accomplishment. At the International and Comparative Law Program at GW Law, we work daily to ensure that our students have opportunities to shape international policy and all its legal dimensions. We have no doubt that Razi will thrive in this new role and offer key contributions to the work of the US State Department in the area of human rights. We are honored to have him as our student.”