Paloma Torres López
Graduated in Law and Business Administration and Management with a Diploma in Communication Skills and Foreign Language Studies at Comillas Pontifical University (Madrid, Spain), where she also completed a Master’s Degree in Access to the Legal Practice (LLM), specialising in Public Law and Public Policy.
Subsequently, she was awarded a scholarship to study the inter-university master’s degree ‘European Master Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation’ (EMA) of the Global Campus of Human Rights, where she graduated cum laude. During her studies, she had the opportunity to study at the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (Venice, Italy) and at the Panteion University of Social and Political Science (Athens, Greece).
She has obtained the title of Expert in Combating Human Trafficking granted by the University of Alcalá (Alcalá de Henares, Spain) and has continued his training in other subjects by attending seminars and courses.
Paloma is a member of the Madrid Bar Association, and her work has been closely related to strategic human rights litigation. After training at Women’s Link Worldwide, she has participated in various high-impact litigation cases, developing experience before international and European human rights protection mechanisms. Among other examples, Paloma was one of the lawyers who designed the legal strategy that led to the first ever conviction by a UN Committee of a state for failing to meet its obligations to protect against obstetric violence.
At the national level, Paloma has worked as National Supervisor of the legal area of International Protection at Diaconía, coordinating the performance of the legal team and leading the defence of complex or strategic asylum cases. In addition, Paloma is a Legal Activist at the NGO Coordinadora de Barrios and at the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía – APDHA (Andalusian Association for Human Rights – APDHA), where she provides legal assistance. She is also a member of the Asociación Libre de Abogadas y Abogados -ALA (Free Association of Lawyers – ALA).
Since 2017, Paloma has been working as a human rights consultant and has recently been selected to be part of the list of experts of the European Union Agency of Asylum (EUAA). In addition, she has developed projects for Save the Children or the Federación de Planificación Familiar Española – SEDRA (Spanish Family Planning Federation – SEDRA) and has given trainings to public administration officials such as the Asylum and Refugee Office (Ministry of Interior). She has also worked as an external consultant for the public affairs consultancy Estrategos or the Comillas Pontifical University. She has also worked as a consultant for specific projects conducted by organisations such as the UNHCR, Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer – AECC (Spanish Association Against Cancer – AECC), Aleas Infantiles SOS (SOS Children’s Villages) or the Red Solidaria Internacional Agustino Recoleta – ARCORES (Agustino Recoleta International Solidarity Network – ARCORES).
Since 2020, she has been an Associate Professor at the Law Faculty of Comillas Pontifical University, where she also participates in research projects, and is an advisor to student volunteers at the ICADE Law Clinic.
In addition, Paloma has conducted extensive field work both on the Spanish southern border, intervening in maritime arrivals with migrant children for Save the Children, and in Athens (Greece) in a self-managed project with refugee women outside the system. On the other hand, she has extensive experience in project management, both as head of the Save the Children office in Malaga and through her work for the Service for Solidarity Commitment and Development Cooperation of Comillas Pontifical University and the ICADE Legal Clinic. In addition, she gained experience in research and advocacy in the department of Awareness and Children’s Policies of Save the Children in Madrid.