About us

Our research and professional support staff, masters and doctoral students, and human rights defenders in residence share a focus on the real-world challenges and potentialities of putting human rights into practice.

CAHR is committed to meaningful human rights and humanitarian practice and thus to interdisciplinarity. Our work is international in breadth and focused on achieving change from the local to the global level.

Founded in 2007, CAHR is based at the University of York, a university for public good. We tap into the university’s rich tradition of engaged scholarship in the fields of human rights law and politics, as well as development, conflict studies, public policy, public health, disability rights, gender and women's rights, and environmental studies.

The Centre has particularly strong links to the Department of Politics and International Relations and York Law School.

Key facts

CAHR’s protection work

On our Protective Fellowship schemes for human rights defenders at risk, we have offered respite and training to over 100 human rights activists from more than 50 countries.

CAHR’s signature programmes of knowledge Exchange

The UNESCO Human Rights Defenders Hub, the Generating Respect Hub, and Human Rights City Hub showcase the impact resulting from our work co-produced with human rights and humanitarian actors.

CAHR’s research

We host the Journal of Human Rights Practice, publish peer-reviewed books and articles, policy-shaping briefs, and produce digital and interactive resources engaging a variety of audiences and the general public.

CAHR’s applied human rights teaching

We run the MA in Applied Human Rights and the LLM in International Human Rights Law and Policy with our partner departments.