Chris Rogers

Chris Rogers is an independent legal and policy advisor and consultant and serves on the Board of the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). He recently served as Branch Chief and Law & Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Civilian Protection Center, where he helped lead efforts to strengthen civilian protection across U.S. military operations worldwide. His work at DoD focused on civilian harm mitigation, international humanitarian law, investigations and accountability, and the implications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, for military operations and civilian protection.

Previously, Rogers was a Senior Fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law, where he researched and wrote on international law, human rights, counterterrorism, and emerging technologies. Before joining the Department of Defense, he was Senior Program Manager for Security & Rights at the Open Society Foundations, where he led global advocacy, research, and grantmaking on human rights, national security, counterterrorism, and emerging technologies, including extensive work in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Europe. Earlier in his career, he was a researcher with CIVIC, based in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Rogers’s work focuses on the intersection of international law, human rights, national security, armed conflict, civilian protection, and emerging technologies. He has published on drone warfare, detention, torture, civilian protection, transitional justice, accountability, and artificial intelligence. He received his BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MPhil in International Development from Oxford University, and JD from Harvard Law School.