Marcos Orellana

Marcos A. Orellana is an adjunct professor at GW Law, where he teaches International Environmental Law.

His research interests include the role of global interests in shaping global obligations and the interface between climate change and human rights. His practice as Legal Advisor has included work with United Nations agencies, governments, and non-governmental organizations. Mr. Orellana's practice in climate negotiations has included work as Senior Legal Advisor for the Climate Change COP25 Presidency, as well as representing the eight-nation Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) in the negotiations of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the modalities of its facilitation and compliance mechanism.

Mr. Orellana has extensive experience working with civil society around the world on issues concerning global environmental justice. He was the inaugural Director of the Environment and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. Previously, Mr. Orellana directed the trade and the human rights programs at the Center for International Environmental Law, and he Co-Chaired the UN Environment Program’s civil society forum.

Professor Orellana also lectures at the American University Washington College of Law. Previously he has lectured in prominent universities around the world, including Melbourne, Pretoria, Geneva, and Guadalajara. He was a Fellow at the University of Cambridge, Visiting Scholar with the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC, and Instructor Professor of International Law at the Universidad de Talca, Chile.