Andrew Byrnes is Emeritus Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. He was a professor of law at the Australian National University and the University of Hong Kong before joining UNSW, where he became a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Law. He chaired the Australian Human Rights Centre and led the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law as President.

His publications cover various human rights topics, such as women’s rights, older persons’ rights, disability rights, national human rights institutions, and economic and social rights. He has also provided advice to many organisations, including the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Law Council of Australia, the Seniors Rights Service (NSW), and the International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia-Pacific.

He participated in the drafting of international human rights instruments, such as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition, he has worked as a consultant to the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank on human rights issues, especially on older persons and disability rights.