Nazila Ghanea

Professor of International Human Rights Law

Bonavero Institute of Human Rights

Other affiliations

Kellogg College Oxford Human Rights Hub Public International Law @ Oxford

Biography

Dr Nazila Ghanea is Professor in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. She serves as Associate Director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub and is a Fellow of Kellogg College (BA Keele, MA Leeds, PhD Keele, MA Oxon). She serves as a member of the OSCE Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief and on the Board of Trustees of the independent think tank, the Universal Rights Group. She has been a visiting academic at a number of institutions including Columbia and NYU, and previously taught at the University of London and Keele University, UK and in China. Nazila’s research spans freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, women’s rights, minority rights and human rights in the Middle East. Her publications include nine books, five UN publications as well as a number of journal articles and reports. Her research has been funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Board, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, Open Society and the QNRF. She has been invited to address UN expert seminars on seven occasions. From 2012-2014 she is co-leading a research team to look at the Domestic Impact of UN Treaty Ratification in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. From 2010-2013 she was part of a research term investigating ‘Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice’ (2010-2013). She has also received a number of university scholarships and academic awards. Nazila has acted as a human rights consultant/expert for a number of governments, the UN, UNESCO, OSCE, Commonwealth, Council of Europe and the EU. She has facilitated international human rights law training for a range of professional bodies around the world, lectured widely and carried out first hand human rights field research in a number of countries including Malaysia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. She is a regular contributor to the media on human rights matters.

Publications

Journal Article (14)

Çali B, Ghanea N and Jones B, ‘Big Promises, Small Gains: Domestic Effects of Human Rights Treaty Ratification in the Member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council’ (2016) 38(1) Human Rights Quarterly 21

Ghanea N, ‘Intersectionality and the Spectrum of Racist Hate Speech: Proposals to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’ [2013] Human Rights Quarterly

Ghanea N, ‘Are Religious Minorities Really Minorities?’ [2012] (40909) Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 44927

Ghanea N, ‘Minorities and Hatred: Protections and Implications’ (2010) 17.3(40360) International Journal of Minority and Group Rights 423

Ghanea N, ‘Religious Minorities and Human Rights: Bridging International and Domestic Perspectives on the Rights of Persons Belonging to Religious Minorities under English Law’ [2010] (volume 9, 2010) European Yearbook of Minority Issues

Ghanea N, ‘Phantom Minorities and Religions Denied: Muslims, Bahá’ís and International Human Rights’ [2009] (2 (2009) Shia Affairs Journal

Ghanea N, ‘Religious or Minority? Examining the Realization of International Standards in Relation to Religious Minorities in the Middle East’ [2008] (36.3) Religion, State and Society 303

Ghanea N and Melchiorre A, ‘A Review of the 61st Session of the Commission on Human Rights’ [2006] (9.4) International Journal of Human Rights 507

Ghanea N, ‘From UN Commission on Human Rights to UN Human Rights Council: One Step Forwards or Two Steps Sideways’ (2006) 55(3) International and Comparative Law Quarterly 695

Ghanea N and Rahmani L, ‘A Review of the 60th Session of the Commission on Human Rights’ [2005] (9.1) International Journal of Human Rights 125

Ghanea N, ‘Convergences and Disparities Between the Human Rights of Religious Minorities and of Women in the Middle East’ (2004) 26(3) Human Rights Quarterly 705

Ghanea N and Rahmani L, ‘The 58th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights’ [2003] International Journal of Human Rights

Ghanea N, ‘The 54th Session of the Commission on Human Rights’ [1998] (16.3) Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

Ghanea N, ‘The 53rd Session of the Commission on Human Rights’ [1997] (35674) Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

Bielefeldt H, Ghanea N and Wiener M, Commentary on Freedom of religion or belief (Oxford University Press, under Contract 2015)

Ghanea N, Human Rights, the UN and the Bahá’ís in Iran (Kluwer Law International 2003) 628

Ghanea N and Ahmed F, ‘Religion and Human Rights: Conflicts and Connections’ in P Hedges (ed.), Controversies in Contemporary Religions, Volume 2: Public and Ethical Controversies (Praeger Publishers 2013)

Ghanea N, ‘Religion and Human Rights: An Introduction’ in J Witte, Jr. and M Christian Green (eds.), Religion, Equality, and Non-Discrimination (Oxford University Press 2011)

Ghanea N, ‘Phobias and ’Isms’: Recognition of Difference or the Slippery Slope of Particularisms?’ in N Ghanea, R Walden and A Stephens (eds.), Does God Believe in Human Rights? (Martinus Nijhoff 2007)

Ghanea N, ‘Repressing Minorities and Getting Away With It? A Consideration of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ in N Ghanea and A Xanthaki (eds.), Minorities, Peoples and Self-Determination (Martinus Nijhoff 2005)

Ghanea N, ‘Facilitating Freedom of Religion and Belief: Perspectives, Impulses and Recommendations from the Oslo Coalition’ in C Durham, T Lindholm and B Tahzib-Lie (eds.), Apostasy and Freedom to Change Religion or Belief (Martinus Nijhoff 2004)

Ghanea N, ‘The 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief’ in N Ghanea (ed.), The Challenge of Religious Discrimination at the Dawn of the New Millennium (Martinus Nijhoff 2003)

Ghanea N, ‘Faith in Human Rights, Human Rights in Faith’ in N Ghanea (ed.), The Challenge of Religious Discrimination at the Dawn of the New Millennium (Martinus Nijhoff 2003)

Edited book (4)

Ghanea N, Religion and Human Rights, Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III, Vol. IV (Routledge 2010)

Ghanea N, Does God Believe in Human Rights? (Martinus Nijhoff 2007)

Ghanea N, The Challenge of Religious Discrimination at the Dawn of the New Millennium (Martinus Nijhoff 2004)

Ghanea N, Minorities, Peoples and Self-Determination: Essays in Honour of Patrick Thornberry (Martinus Nijhoff 2004)

Conference Paper (4)

Ghanea N, ‘The Concept of Racist Hate Speech and Its Evolution over Time, Contribution to UN CERD Session’ (2012)

Ghanea N, ‘Educational Reform in Iran: Human Rights Perspectives’ (2012)

Ghanea N, ‘Expert Workshops on the Prohibition of Incitement to National, Racial or Religious Hatred (February 2011, Vienna)’ (United Nations 2011)

Ghanea N, ‘FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ADVOCACY OF RELIGIOUS HATRED THAT CONSTITUTES INCITEMENT TO DISCRIMINATION, HOSTILITY OR VIOLENCE: Articles 19 and 20 of the ICCPR’ (United Nations 2008)

Evans M, Rehman J, Mera Z, and others, ‘Article 18: An Orphaned Right’ (M Evans ed., All Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom 2013)

Ghanea N, ‘Preaching and Practising: Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Commonwealth’ (Report Commissioned by the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau, Which in Turn Was Commissioned and Funded by the Canadian High Commission, London 2012)

Lazarus L, Costello C, Ghanea N, and others, ‘The Evolution of Fundamental Rights Charters and Case Law: A Comparison of the United Nations, Council of Europe and the European Union Systems of Human Rights Protection’ (European Parliament 2011)

Ghanea N and Hass B, ‘Seeking Justice and an End to Neglect: Iran\’s Minorities Today’ (Minority Rights Group International 2011)

Ghanea N, ‘Sisters in Islam’ (ESRC Research Paper RES-155-25-0042 on South-North Non-Governmental Networks, Policy Processes and Policy Outcomes, NGPA Paper Series by the ESRC 2009)

Ghanea N, ‘Ethnic and Religious Groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran’ (2003)