Dr Lilija Alijeva and Professor Tawhida Ahmed have been awarded the funding for the project, ‘Mainstreaming Inclusivity and Decolonisation in International Minority Rights Legal Norms’.
By Mr Shamim Quadir (Senior Communications Officer), Published
This month, Dr Lilija Alijeva, Professor Tawhida Ahmed and Dr Isilay Taban (University of Brighton), were awarded British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants Scheme funding for a project titled ‘Mainstreaming Inclusivity and Decolonisation in International Minority Rights Legal Norms.’
Over the next two years, the team of researchers will work on addressing the question of how to better protect minorities and accommodate their rights.
By using a mixed methodology that combines archival work, quantitative data-gathering techniques and a planned workshop programme, the project reflects on past United Nations level negotiations and the current civil society needs for reform.
After successful pilot activities last year, the researchers will build on the lessons learned and on the current momentum of decolonisation scholarship on minority rights.
The project also looks at the current needs of civil society organisations and other non-governmental stakeholders who actively work in the field of minority rights protection, with a view to inform the potential future reform of the current international legal framework and its processes.
The funding will ensure the continuation of a knowledge exchange events programme, where these needs and potential ideas for reform will be identified, contributing to the achievements of the first DiverCity Workshop in 2024.
The research project is supported by the Minority Rights Solidarity Network, which is a network aimed at facilitating collaborations between academic and non-academic stakeholders in the field of minority rights protection. The project researchers are part of the network’s steering group with Professor Tawhida Ahmed acting as chair.
Dr Lilija Alijeva said: