Centre for Human Rights
Protecting human rights globally
The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) at Birmingham City University promotes the protection of human rights, access to justice and the rule of law, around the world.
Consultancy
We provide legal advice and report drafting for political regions, governments, nongovernmental organisations and wider civil society stakeholders.
Find out moreClinic
CHR members provide legal advice, drafting legal arguments, and amicus curiae brief writing for litigation in international and domestic cases.
Find out moreResearch and Education
We engage in world leading research and publications, and provide innovative human rights education through Model United Nations simulated exercises.
Find out moreOur work
We undertake advisory roles in the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the African Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. We provide consultancy services to governments and nongovernmental organisations, and in selected individual cases we draft legal opinions and file legal briefs in domestic courts and in international human rights courts.
Since the creation of the CHR in 2014, we have been either the lead implementer or partners on externally funded projects through the European Union’s Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, and the UK government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Program, and five Midlands4Cities studentship provided by the Arts and Humanities Council.
The work from the CHR significantly informs the School of Law’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) submission, in providing key publications, and for contributing to our case studies. We have also created high-level human rights simulated exercises, including a UN Security Council “Model United Nations,” to contribute to Law’s submission in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). In our work with international organisations, governments, and nongovernmental organisations, we engage effective and efficient processes to further the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF).
Law PhDs
We support a thriving PhD community, largely through its three main research centres: The Centre for American Legal Studies, The Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Law, Science and Policy. We also contribute to the work of the University-wide Centre for Brexit Studies.
Meet the director
Professor of Human Rights and Director of the Centre for Human Rights, Jon Yorke, has been recognised for his work on the death penalty in the United States and around the world. Professor Yorke started his law journey in the US, working at the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System in 1996 and the Federal Public Defenders Office in 1997. In 2024, he was given the Andrew Lee Jones Award at the 2024 Amicus Champions of Justice Awards.
Members
About our PhDs
CHR Members provide world-class supervision, key access to the relevant international stakeholder, and a holistic approach to career development, as well as a wonderful collegiate environment.
Contact
For more information please contact Professor Jon Yorke, (jon.yorke@bcu.ac.uk) Director and Professor of Human Rights, Dr Alice Storey (alice.storey@bcu.ac.uk), Associate Director (Clinic and Consultancy) or Dr Amna Nazir (amna.nazir@bcu.ac.uk), Associate Director (Partners, and Research and Education).