About
Health inequalities among racialized and vulnerable communities remain one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Shaped by structural racism, unequal access to social determinants of health, and the powerful role of law and public policy, these disparities demand interdisciplinary and global responses. The UNESCO Chair on Health, Race and Human Rights at the University of British Columbia brings together research, teaching, policy engagement, and international collaboration to advance health equity, racial justice, and human rights. Situated at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, the Chair is the only UNESCO Chair in the world dedicated specifically to this strategic priority area, working across the Global North and South to foster scholarship, dialogue, and action on some of the most urgent issues facing racialized and vulnerable populations today.
Read more about the ChairStay connected with the latest developments from the Chair.
UN Human Rights Council
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, our Special Advisor Dr. Tracie L. Keesee highlighted Dr. Iyioha's Substantive Legal Effectiveness (SLE) framework — the war on drugs fuels systemic racism, and legal systems must deliver substantive, not merely formal, protection of rights.
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UBC Allard School of Law
Registration is now open for the inaugural UNESCO Chair on Health, Race and Human Rights Global Congress, taking place in San José, Costa Rica, from 1–3 February 2027. Secure your place and join scholars, practitioners, and advocates from around the world.
Read moreDue to an enthusiastic response from scholars, practitioners, students, policymakers, advocates, and experts around the world, as well as inquiries about extending the submission deadline, the call for abstracts for the inaugural UNESCO Chair on Health, Race and Human Rights Global Congress has been extended to 5 October 2026.
Read moreUBC Allard School of Law
The call for abstracts is out for the inaugural UNESCO Chair on Health, Race and Human Rights Global Congress, taking place in San José, Costa Rica, from 1–3 February 2027, on truth-telling, human rights and health justice in an age of global fracture.
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Our Research Lead in Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Digital Technologies, Jake Effoduh, hosted this year’s Canadian Technology Law Conference and served on its steering committee alongside leading technology law scholars from across Canada.
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Jake Effoduh joined Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim for a conversation about AI, rights, and equality—examining who benefits from emerging technologies and who risks being left behind.
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Jake Effoduh’s latest paper, published in Volume 62 of the Computer Law & Security Review, examines whether algorithmic tools will disrupt or deepen coloniality in African judiciaries and offers a framework for preparing for the algorithmic courtroom.
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Our Director of Global Networks and Research Lead in Global and Comparative Health Law, Uchechukwu Ngwaba, will present at Health Promotion, Equity and Rights: The Ottawa Charter at 40, hosted at the University of Ottawa on October 20–21.
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Toronto Metropolitan University
Our Research Lead in Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Digital Technologies, Jake Effoduh, and our Director of Global Networks, Uchechukwu Ngwaba, are part of the TMU-led projects awarded prestigious CIHR Catalyst Grants advancing health research.
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Our Director of Partnerships, Benjamin Davis, shares the exciting start of his Visiting Scholar role at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights.
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UBC cIRcle
Our Associate in International Human Rights Strategy and Clinical Programming, Ijeamaka Anika, successfully defended her dissertation, a major milestone now archived in UBC's open research repository.
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Penn State University
Our Director of Education, Training and Curriculum Development, LaWanda Ward, has been selected as one of two Administrative Fellows at Penn State for 2026–27.
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The Conversation
An op-ed by our Research Lead in Gender-Based Violence & Racialized Governance, Julie Ynes Ada Tchoukou, examining Canada's position at the United Nations on the recognition of slavery and its enduring legacies.
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Opinio Juris
An op-ed by our Research Lead in Gender-Based Violence & Racialized Governance, Julie Ynes Ada Tchoukou, on Africa's new treaty on violence against women and its decolonial implications for global feminist law.
Read moreProgram Scope
Core domains of inquiry and engagement that shape the Chair's research, teaching, policy, and international collaboration initiatives.
Milestones
First ever UNESCO Chair hosted at the University of British Columbia
The first UNESCO Chair established in a law school in Anglophone Canada
Only the second Chair to be hosted by UNESCO in a law school in Canada
Global Network
The Chair's collaborators, researchers, and institutional partners span the Global North and South. Each marker on the map below represents a global hub connected to the Chair's international network of research, partnership, and engagement.
Vancouver, Canada
Irehobhude O. Iyioha
Chair Holder
Jessica Buffalo
Advisor on Indigenous Engagement
Josh Regnier
Advisor on Indigenous Law and Policy
Liora Lazarus
Research Expert, Populism & Global Health
Ijeamaka Anika
Associate, Human Rights Strategy
Lindsey Richardson
Research Lead, Health, Work, and Social Inequality
Shirley Chau
Research Lead, Anti-Racism, Health Equity, and Inclusive Service Systems
Toronto, Canada
Toronto Metropolitan University
Partner Institution
Jasmeen Bassi
Program Manager
Uchechukwu Ngwaba
Director of Global Networks
Kayla Webber
Director of Scholarly Engagement
Jake Effoduh
Research Lead, AI & Digital Technologies
Omowamiwa Kolawole
Associate, Human Rights Strategy
Ottawa, Canada
Julie Ynes Ada Tchoukou
Research Lead, Violence Against Women in Intl. Law
Cambridge, MA, USA
Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School
Partner Institution
State College, PA, USA
LaWanda Ward
Director of Education, Training & Curriculum
College Station, TX, USA
Benjamin Davis
Director of Partnerships (Texas A&M)
Lyon, France
UNESCO Chair in Global Health Education
Partner Institution
Brighton, UK
Sussex Centre for Human Rights Research
Partner Institution
Charlotte Skeet
Lead, European Research Network
Oxford, UK
Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Oxford
Partner Institution
Lima, Peru
CLADEM
Latin American & Caribbean Committee for Women's Rights
San José, Costa Rica
IIRESODH
Intl. Institute of Social Responsibility & Human Rights
Rosemère, Canada
Tamara Gonsalves
Latin-American Liaison, Litigation Strategy
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV)
Partner Institution
Florianópolis, Brazil
UNESCO Chair on Education Towards Racial Equality
Partner Institution (UFSC)
Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
UNESCO Chair on Peace and Citizenship (ABUAD)
Partner Institution
Benin City, Nigeria
University of Benin
Partner Institution
Edoba Omoregie
African Liaison; Constitutional Law & Health Governance
Hadiza Okunrobo
Lead, African Research Network
Obehi Akoria
Research Expert, Geriatrics & Elder Health
Agboiyi Uyi Okhiria
Associate, Health & Human Rights in African Health Systems
Abakaliki, Nigeria
Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike
Partner Institution
Joyce Nnenna Eseni
Research Expert (AE-FUTHA)
Tehran, Iran
Omid Abdolahian
Associate, Health Law and Policy in the Middle East
In the News
Peter A. Allard School of Law
Dr. Iyioha discusses her vision for the Chair and the urgent role of law in addressing racialized health inequities across the Global North and South.
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Allard Law celebrates a historic appointment — the first UNESCO Chair ever hosted at the school and at the University of British Columbia.
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Amazons Watch Magazine
International coverage of Dr. Iyioha's historic appointment and her decades-long contributions to health law, ethics, and human rights.
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Featured Instagram post celebrating the appointment of Dr. Irehobhude Iyioha as the inaugural UNESCO Chair on Health, Race and Human Rights.
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Her Network
Her Network profiles Dr. Iyioha's historic appointment and her work advancing equity at the intersection of health, race, and human rights.
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