News

Rhodes University African Cluster Centre (Rhodes-ACC) is one of the four African partners working with the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence of the University of Bayreuth, Germany, towards reconfiguring African studies, on both the conceptual and the structural level.

Through the collaborative research project between Rhodes University and University of Bayreuth:

“When the law is not enough: Tackling intractable problems of human
rights – Prospects for integrated approaches”

we invite applications for a PhD position who will be admitted at Rhodes University.

The Research Project

Despite tremendous strides in the legal and institutional protection of human rights in Africa which has seen the African Union champion the ever-growing framework of treaties and institutions dedicated to human rights protection, many African citizens still suffer the yoke of human rights abuses and in some cases, their situations seem worse than was the case before the advent of widespread constitutional protection. Questions arise, therefore, why despite the establishment of these extensive legal frameworks, human rights violations still persist on a large scale. Why is there such a huge disparity between the legal framework and the incidence of human rights violations? What can be done to close the gap between the formal protection as against the lived reality of citizens?

This project seeks to address these questions by focusing on three intractable problems of human rights, so defined because of the seeming impossibility to resolve them. They include child labour, human trafficking, and the protection of LGBTQI+ rights.Veering away from orthodox legal analysis, this project foregrounds solutions that reflect the multifaceted nature of the problems themselves. It utilises grounded methods from multiple disciplines and seeks data and analysis from a number ofcountries to enable space for a reflexive and relational discourse on how best to deal with hard problems of human rights.

The PhD Position

The successful candidate will be part of the Working Group on human trafficking and their research will centre around this topic. The successful PhD candidate will be based at Rhodes-ACC and enrolled at Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS). The position is a fixed-term appointment for 4 years. The position requires an active participation in the activities of the Cluster of Excellence “Africa Multiple” i.e. in research colloquia, lecture series and workshops, as well as active engagement in the ACC’s research activities.

The supervision of the candidate at Rhodes University will be jointly conducted between Rhodes
University (Prof. Dr. Uchenna Okeja) and University of Bayreuth (Prof. Dr. Thoko Kaime).

Requirements

• An excellent University LLM/MA degree in Law, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, Politics, Conflict Studies or other related fields. Of importance is the engagement with and strong interest in the topic of human rights in Africa. Thereby, work and research experience in this area are an advantage.
• Open-minded, enthusiastic and highly talented early career researcher with good research skills
• Excellent knowledge of English is required while knowledge of other languages will be an added advantage.
• Management skills through interdisciplinary or international work experiences
• While Rhodes University promotes equal opportunity, the project encourages female and queer applicants of African origin who are currently underrepresented in the field of human rights in Africa.

What we offer

• Tuition fees
• Payment of stipend (according to university guidelines)
• International Workshop and Conference participation
• Research trips in South Africa and Nigeria
• A stimulating, professional supervision
• An international and interdisciplinary research team
• Development and strengthening of research and management skills

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, names of two referees, short curriculum vitae (max. two pages), list of publications, copies of degree certificates (undergraduate and postgraduate), and a brief project proposal (max. 8 pages, including literature references) showing how their proposed research would fit into the larger project.

Please send applications in one PDF to: Prof. Dr. Uchenna Okeja (u.okeja@ru.ac.za) and Prof. Dr. Thoko Kaime (thoko.kaime@uni-bayreuth.de).

The deadline for submission of applications is September 20th, 2021.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed virtually in September and successful candidates will be notified on the decision of the Selection Committee. The project aims to start in October 2021. For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Uchenna Okeja through email: u.okeja@ru.ac.za.