Student-led human rights journal is a first for Scotland

A new University of Stirling academic journal dedicated to sharing research on human rights aims to influence policy and decision makers in the UK and worldwide.

The University of Stirling Human Rights Journal (USHRJ) is the first of its kind in Scotland as it is led by University of Stirling students working across multiple disciplines, including Criminology, Social Work, Publishing, Education, Law and Journalism. 

Highlighting human rights events, the journal showcases cutting-edge research by postgraduate and PhD students at Stirling, and practitioners in the sector and other institutions. It also provides students with real-world experience in journal management and academic publishing.

USHRJ features student editors, an editorial board led by PhD candidates, and academic advisers from the Universities of Stirling, Glasgow, Oslo, Budapest, Western Australia, Rhodes University in South Africa, and The Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.

The first edition includes a paper by University of Stirling PhD student Emilia Vassiliades examining the legality and ethics of migration. Using the landmark EU-Turkey Agreement, which sought to limit the number of asylum seeker arrivals to European Union countries following the civil war in Syria, Emilia calls for migration policies and practices that empower people on the move with the freedom to choose their destination, and that account for the economic capacities of receiving countries. 

Emilia, also an editor on USHRJ, said of its launch: “In an increasingly hostile environment for human rights research and practice, dissenting voices must not only be heard but amplified. As a PhD student, I know that students and early career researchers are not just observers of these debates; they are active participants, disruptors and thinkers shaping the future. 

“As an editor, I am excited to highlight and support high-quality contributions that challenge injustices and advance human rights discourse.”

Dr Damian Etone, Senior Lecturer in Law in the University of Stirling's Faculty of Arts and Humanities, said: “The mission of the University of Stirling Human Rights Journal is to provide a high-quality peer-reviewed journal that recognises students as researchers in their own right. They are tomorrow’s thought leaders and so it’s important for them to have a platform that shares their innovative ideas.”

The University of Stirling has a strong reputation for human rights, ranging from Masters programmes to research clusters and teaching in disciplines such as Education and Social Work.

To find out more, or to submit to the journal, visit: https://www.ushrj.org.uk/

Students and editorial board members of the University of Stirling Human Rights Journal.