Chair on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, and Expansion of Political Space

Globally, civil society and associated activism is under attack due to the rise of populism and authoritarianism. Through the UNESCO Chair, the team at the University of York, and a network of university and civil society partners, seeks to advance applied research, knowledge exchange, and policy and practice on how universities can support vibrant civil societies.

While universities are themselves under attack, they often have more room to manoeuvre than civil society counterparts. Universities are protected by their status, networks and resources, enabling them to in turn become a protective space for others.

The work of this Chair

This Chair, based at the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) at the University of York, focuses on the role that universities can play in protecting human rights defenders (HRDs), and expanding political space. Its work is supported by a global network of universities and civil society organisations.

The Chair team is currently working on two major projects. The first relates to norm development, through the coproduction of a set of Guidelines for Universities Hosting Human Rights Defenders (2025), which focus on defenders whose work places them at risk. The second is the support of Regional University Hubs, the first of which was established at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa in 2024. These Hubs will provide fellowships for defenders at risk, as well as playing think tank and knowledge-exchange roles within their regions or continent.

Micro projects taking place under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair include research on the role of universities in supporting activists in exile (with Mahidol University, Thailand, and Charles University in the Czech Republic); a collaboration with the Urgent Action Fund, a donor, to distil and disseminate their feminist model of crisis response and protection; and work with multiple partners on the different ways academics and activists are collaborating in new human rights pedagogies, for a future special issue of the Journal of Human Rights Practice.

More information on the work of this Chair

About the Chair Lead

Professor Paul Gready is the Co-Director of the Centre for Applied Human Rights, at the University of York. Both his teaching and research take place at the intersection of human rights practice and human rights scholarship. He was a founding editor of the Journal of Human Rights Practice and remains a co-editor of the journal.

His research specialisms include universities as sites of activism and protection; human rights practice; human rights cities; transitional and transformative justice; and the arts and human rights.

More information on the Chair Lead