Human Rights Clinic Research project

Business and Human Rights Unit

Principal Investigators

Dr Anil Yilmaz
Dr Jessica Lawrece
Dr Justin Jos Poonjatt

A photograph of the river Thames and the city of London

The Business and Human Rights Unit (BHRU) is an ongoing specialist unit within the Human Rights Centre Clinic at the University of Essex, launched in the 2025–26 academic year. It brings together the Clinic and the Essex Business and Human Rights Project (EBHR) to build on more than 20 years of expertise in business and human rights research, scholarship and education at the Essex Human Rights Centre and Essex Law School.

BHRU participants will work with academic supervisors and partner organisations to conduct research and develop outputs that support the advancement of human rights and environmental protection in the context of business operations across the globe. Students will have the opportunity to work on a range of projects, including conducting investigative research on corporate human rights reporting and carrying out background research on potential court claims for remediation of corporate harms. The work will allow students to develop their understanding of human rights challenges in the world of corporations, develop skills in assessing facts and determining their pertinence to a given human rights issue, identifying possible legal pathways to hold corporations accountable, and understand practical challenges involved in tackling human rights and environmental harm caused by business activity. Students will strengthen their research and writing skills while working on practical business and human rights issues.

The BHRU is led by Dr Anil Yilmaz and supported by Dr Jessica Lawrence, Dr Justin Jos Poonjatt and Professor Geoff Gilbert.

Applications for 2026-2027 will open on 9 October 2026, after the Introduction to the Human Rights Centre Clinic session.

How to apply for 2026-27

About our partners

In 2026-27, the BHRU will be partnering with UNHCR. The UNHCR leads the protection of people forced to flee conflict and persecution, and those that are left stateless. It operates in 122 countries. For the past 75 years, it has been safeguarding the rights of refugees and providing protection and assistance to millions of forcibly displaced and stateless people. UNHCR’s Private Sector Engagement Strategy recognises that businesses are vital actors in addressing humanitarian crises. Businesses can play an important role in supporting refugee access to critical products and services. However, business practices may also undermine the rights of refugees, with particularly complex business and human rights issues arising in contexts of conflict and displacement. This project will support UNHCR’s work on how business activities impact refugee protection and how existing legal frameworks on business and human rights might apply to the refugee-business nexus.

How to apply

Applications to join all Clinic projects in 2025-26 will open on 9 October 2026. Please submit your application by Tuesday 13 October at 5pm to humanrightscentreclinic@essex.ac.uk. Please send your application documents in PDF format with the file name [SURNAME]_[First name]_HRCC application.

Interviews

Interviews will take place via Zoom on 15 and 16 October 2026. You will be allocated a time slot for a short conversation with the HRC Clinic Director and Dr Anil Yilmaz. We will communicate the decision during the week of 19 October 2026.

Who can apply?

The BHRU is open to all final-year undergraduates as well as all postgraduate students at Essex from any discipline (it is not restricted to law and human rights students).
When applying for this stand-alone project, you do not need to take HU902, but you can opt to do so.

Thank you for your interest in this project, and we look forward to receiving your application.

Supervisors

Dr Anil Yilmaz Vastardis

Senior Lecturer

Essex Law School, University of Essex

Dr Jessica Lawrence

Senior Lecturer

Essex Law School, University of Essex

Professor Geoff Gilbert

Sérgio Vieira de Mello Professor of International Human Rights & Humanitarian Law

Essex Law School, University of Essex