Afonso is originally from Portugal and graduated in Law from the Portuguese Catholic University (Porto Law School), in Philosophy (award Vitorino Sousa Alves) from the Portuguese Catholic University (Braga) and in Theology from the Pontificia Universita Gregariana in Rome. He subsequently undertook his theological studies at Heythrop College (University of London) in Contemporary Ethics. Afonso holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics with the thesis entitled ‘US drone strikes in Pakistan during 2013’. In 2019, Afonso obtained a PhD from the University of Essex with a thesis entitled ‘The legitimacy and accountability for the development of autonomous weapon systems under international humanitarian law’, under the supervision of Professors Noam Lubell and Wayne Martin. Between 2018-2020, Afonso worked as a visiting scholar at the Blavatnik School of Government under the supervision of Professor Dapo Akande.

He taught various legal subjects at the Porto Law School and at Essex Law School and currently also lectures at the Universidad de Deusto in Spain. His areas of interests are international law and the use of force; international humanitarian law and the challenges of new technologies of warfare for international law; and state responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law caused by artificial devices.

Afonso Seixas-Nunes is a Jesuit Priest, having been ordained in 2010. He is currently a Junior Research Fellow at Campion Hall, Oxford University.