Jean-Baptiste was born on 24 March 1986. He graduated with a diploma from the Institute of Political Studies of Aix-en-Provence and a masters degree in European and International Relations (2010). He holds a PhD in public international law from the University of Paris X – Nanterre – La Défense (2015). The topic of his doctoral dissertation was “the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination: contribution to the study of the emergence of a norm in customary international law”. After working as an intern with a legal consulting firm in Auckland, New Zealand (2007-2008) and at the United Nations Development Programme in Nicosia, Cyprus (2010), he focused his interests in the fields of conflict resolution, nationalism, self-determination, development and human rights.
Jean-Baptiste worked as a volunteerwith YUCOM from October 2012 to June 2015 and has since then been keeping collaborating occasionally. His areas of particular interest include minority rights, transitional justice, legal aid and legal reforms in the process of Serbia’s accession to the European Union (e.g. monitoring the screening process and action plan elaboration for negotiation chapters 23 and 24, etc).
He speaks French, English and Serbian and has a working level of German and Russian.
e-mail : jean-baptiste.merlin@yucom.org.rs
