United Nations University Centre for Policy Research's Modern Slavery Programme is delighted to welcome four Visiting Fellows from the Rights Lab in February, following a new collaboration announced in November 2019. The Rights Lab is a University of Nottingham Beacon of Excellence with a focus on delivering research to help end modern slavery by 2030 to meet Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Katarina Schwarz leads the Rights Lab Law and Policy Programme. Her research interrogates the law and policy frameworks that operate at the global, regional and domestic level to determine the elements of effective antislavery governance and map trends, successes and failures in this area. Having developed the world’s first comprehensive global database of international obligations and domestic legislation governing slavery and related forms of exploitation, she is now analyzing the antislavery governance frameworks of all 193 UN Member States and mapping these against countries’ international commitments.
Dr Katarina Schwarz said: “This is an excellent opportunity to engage with the UNU-CPR team to enrich, expand our research on antislavery law and policy, and bring this ground-breaking work to the doorsteps of stakeholders in the UN and the United States more broadly.”
Dr Emily Wyman leads the Rights Lab’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) with a focus on methods development and strategy. She delivers contract MEL and research services for anti-slavery organizations using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, and specializes in adaptive participatory MEL designs and the development of indicators for social vulnerability. In her academic career, Dr Wyman spent over a decade conducting behavioural science research.
Hannah Lerigo-Stephens is a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager within the Modern Slavery Evidence Unit at the Rights Lab. Her work focuses on engaging the private sector with antislavery research, supporting business as a key stakeholder to tackle modern slavery effectively. Her experience includes managing labour standards within global food and non-food supply chains at multiple UK retailers, and delivering impact assessments of corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Vicky Brotherton is Associate Director of the Survivors Programme and Policy Engagement Manager at the Rights Lab. She leads the Rights Lab’s work on survivor perspectives, including the integration of survivor voices and experiences into global antislavery work and policy-making, and its policy engagement across all areas of research. Previously she was the Victim Protection and Partnerships Lead at the UK Office of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Alice Eckstein, Programme Manager for the Modern Slavery Programme at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, added: "We are delighted to be welcoming Rights Lab staff members as Visiting Fellows in New York on a rotating basis this year, starting with these four well-respected researchers. I look forward to seeing the research power of the Rights Lab combine with UNU-CPR’s knowledge of global policy processes on the most effective measures to address modern slavery.”
