About the Bonavero Institute (updated)
The Bonavero Institute of Human Rights supports vigorous and diverse scholarly discussion about human rights, and seeks to foster collaboration between scholars and practitioners, notably human rights lawyers and judges. Our team undertakes worldclass research, looking at human rights from a range of perspectives, and working openly and collaboratively with colleagues at Oxford and around the world.
The Institute, a research centre within the Faculty of Law, is based at Mansfield College, Oxford. We seek to provide opportunities for students at the University of Oxford to explore current issues in human rights, and to think about the application of human rights law in practice.
The Bonavero team includes the Institute Director Kate O’Regan, Head of Research (position currently vacant), Head of Programmes Freya Baetens and British Academy Global Professor Martin Scheinin. Shreya Atrey and Nazila Ghanea coordinate the M.St in International Human Rights.
We have six post-doctoral fellows and one researcher attached to the Bonavero. Ekaterina (Katya) Aristova works on business and human rights, Halefom Abraha and Six Silberman on data protection at work alongside the team researcher Sangh Rakshita. Then Daniella Lock supporting the Symposium on Strength and Solidarity project, Maayan Niezna working on the Modern Slavery research project and Richard Mackenzie-Gray Scott working alongside Martin Scheinin on the project “Addressing the Digital Realm through the Grammar of Human Rights Law”.
Zoe Davis-Heaney leads our administrative team. She is supported by Sarah Norman, Programmes Administrator, Rosie Stuart, Events Coordinator and Bharat Shivan, Grants & Finance Officer. The team is complimented by Christos Kypraios as the Programme Co-ordinator for the Massive Open Online Course on Freedom of Expression & Human Rights (project funded by UNESCO), supported by Zaki Rehman.
We will also been joined by three assistants who will work to support our events and research activities over the coming year.
Members of the Institute’s Advisory Council are leading human rights scholars and practitioners from across the world, including senior judges from the UK and human rights lawyers from Colombia, Germany, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States.
The Bonavero Institute is named after one of our core funders, the Bonavero family. Our core staff costs are covered by an endowment in perpetuity from the A B Charitable Trust, which Yves and Anne Bonavero founded in 1990 to promote human dignity and defend human rights.
Research Visitors and Affiliates
Mid-career and senior practitioners and scholars from around the world can apply to our research visitor programme. Post-doctoral and other early career researchers engaged in the broad field of human rights law can apply to the early career fellowship programme.
Academics and researchers at the University of Oxford can apply to the academic affiliate programme. Oxford graduate research students working on human rights, the rule of law or democracy can apply to the graduate research student residency programme.