Dr Daniela Suarez Vargas

Biography

I am an early-career legal scholar and a qualified Colombian lawyer. I hold a PhD in Law and an LLM from Queen’s University Belfast, and an LLB from Universidad del Rosario. From 2024 to 2025, I was a NINE–ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, where I led the project “The Subversive Victim: Victimhood, Agency and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Colombian Non-State Armed Groups”. This research examined how narratives of victimhood shape the recognition of fighters who experienced sexual and gender-based violence within Colombia’s transitional justice processes. I currently work as a Research Project Officer on “Navigating Riverine War Reparations: The Case of the Cauca River”, led by Dr Marina Lostal (Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Essex) and funded by the British Academy through the APEX Award. The project explores how the River Cauca in Colombia might be repaired, rehabilitated, and legally recognised as a victim under the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). My work has been published in academic outlets in both English and Spanish. I have contributed to policy and legal advocacy through collaborations with the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), and the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. My research interests include transitional justice, victimology, international criminal law, human rights, reparations, and Latin American studies.

Qualifications

• PhD in Law Queen's University Belfast, (2024)

• LLM in Law (Distinction) Queen's University Belfast, (2020)

• LLB in Law (Criminal Law) Universidad del Rosario, (2017)

Appointments

University of Essex

• Research Officer, School of Law, University of Essex (1/2/2026 - 17/1/2027)

Other academic

• Research Fellow, School of Law, Queen's University Belfast (1/2/2026 - present)

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Law, Queen's University Belfast (4/11/2024 - 4/11/2025)