Dr Amna Nazir
Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law; Associate Director Centre for Human Rights
- Email:
- Amna.Nazir@bcu.ac.uk
Dr Amna Nazir is an Associate Professor of International Human Rights Law and a globally recognised scholar in international law and Islamic theology. A Senior Fellow of Advance HE, she is a leading voice in the integration of human rights theory, practice, and pedagogy. She convenes the postgraduate LLM module in International Human Rights Law and holds a portfolio of high-level strategic roles: Associate Director of the flagship Centre for Human Rights, College Academic Lead for UoA18 (REF2029 Law submission), and formerly Course Director of the LLM in International Human Rights.
Dr Nazir鈥檚 interdisciplinary research interrogates the UN鈥檚 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism and Islamic legal traditions. Her scholarship explores pressing global human rights concerns, including capital punishment, freedom of religion or belief, and the rights of women and children, through the lens of both international and Islamic legal norms. Her pioneering work on human dignity in Islam and the death penalty contributes to ongoing debates on the compatibility of Islamic law with international human rights law.
Dr Nazir has been invited by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office to advise the British government on their strategy for bilateral engagement in death penalty cases. She has also served in advisory capacities for multiple NGOs operating in the global human rights space.
At the international level, Dr Nazir plays an influential role in the UPR process. She submits stakeholder reports, participates in UPR Pre-sessions, and directly engages with state delegations on their human rights obligations. Her work for the highly influential聽UPR Project at BCU is regularly cited by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and was shortlisted for the national聽 for International Collaboration of the Year. Amna is also co-founder of the 鈥樷��, a globally connected platform for scholars working on the mechanism.
Dr Nazir continues to provide expert submissions and consultancy work in the UN arena and has drafted a report to the Human Rights Committee on General Comment 36 dealing with the global standard on the right to life. She has also been ranked in the top two global candidates for appointment by the UN Human Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
Dr Nazir has also facilitated the world renowned 鈥樷�� project, a manuscript which was radiocarbon-dated as one of the earliest fragments of the Qur鈥檃n in the world. She received the select invitation to join the curator鈥檚 team and exhibit the work in the UAE, working with the British Council and the UAE Ministry of Culture & Knowledge as strategic partners.
A champion of experiential learning, Dr Nazir co-leads UPR-based clinical legal education, integrating real-time UN mechanisms into student learning and advocacy. Her teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with a strong emphasis on critical human rights praxis. She supervises doctoral research, contributes to curriculum innovation, and serves as an external examiner across several UK higher education institutions.
An alumna of the University of Warwick, the University of 探花直播, and two Islamic seminaries, Dr Nazir holds a UK Research Council-funded PhD awarded through the prestigious Midlands3Cities scholarship. Her interdisciplinary research, spanning 探花直播 and the University of 探花直播鈥檚 School of Theology, was recognised as a Research Council impact case study and earned the M3C Cultural Engagement Award.
In recognition of her academic leadership and commitment to student success, she has received numerous honours, including the Dean鈥檚 Award and a nomination for Supportive Staff of the Year. Dr Nazir currently serves as Trustee of the United Nations Association 鈥� UK, contributing to national and global dialogue on the future of multilateral human rights protection.