OPBP: Call for Volunteer Researchers for project on Data Protection under International Human Rights Law

Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP) is looking for volunteers to assist with research for a project in collaboration with Human Rights Watch (HRW) concerning Data Protection under International Human Rights Law. 

HRW is engaging in ongoing research on the collection of data from refugees, asylum seekers and other persons in humanitarian settings, and the potential harms and human rights and privacy concerns that this entails. HRW recently reported on how the UNHCR improperly collected and shared personal information from ethnic Rohingya refugees with Bangladesh, the host government, who then shared it with Myanmar – the very country people were fleeing – to verify people for possible repatriation. 

OPBP would be assisting HRW to explore the protection afforded to Data Protection under International Human Rights Law. The research will focus on what the sources of international human rights obligations for data protection and the protection of personal information are and how these obligations apply to International Organisations (IOs). We will also be looking into what remedies are available for potential breaches of Data Protection rights. 

Previous experience with areas of law such a public international law, human rights law and data protection law is an advantage, but not necessary. The role is to be undertaken approximately between 25 March - 30 April 2022. Research for this project will require approximately 10-12 hours of your time. The position is open to University of Oxford graduate students either with a previous law degree or with previous experience in the subject area.

If you are interested in volunteering, please send a CV to opbp@law.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible, and no later than 24th March, Thursday 5pm. Please also mention in your e-mail any specific experience you may have that may be relevant to the subject area. If you have any further queries regarding the project, do get in touch at opbp@law.ox.ac.uk.