Professor Rachel Murray awarded ESRC Outstanding International Impact Prize

Professor Rachel Murray, Professor of International Human Rights at the University of Bristol Law School, giving her speech as the winner of the ESRC Outstanding International Impact Prize at the award ceremony on 15 November 2023.

Press release issued: 16 November 2023

The Law School’s Rachel Murray, Professor of International Human Rights, was awarded the prestigious Economic and Social Research Council Celebrating Impact Prize 2023 at a ceremony held in the Royal Society in London yesterday, 15 November.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Celebrating Impact Prize is an annual opportunity to recognise the success of ESRC-funded researchers who have achieved impact through exceptional research, knowledge exchange activities, collaborative partnerships and engagement with different communities.

Professor Rachel Murray was awarded the Outstanding International Impact for her research project ‘Collaborative working to redress human rights violations for African peoples.’

The ESRC-funded research led by Professor Murray focused on understanding how to enhance the delivery of reparations to victims of human rights violations. It has influenced strategy and decision-making in national courts and state authorities leading to significant impacts on communities and individuals and helping ensure the victims of wrongs are delivered due justice.

Professor Murray said:

“I am delighted and honoured to have been chosen for this award which reflects the work of the team from Bristol, and the Universities of Middlesex, Essex and Pretoria, as well as the Open Society Justice Initiative, in trying to advance the implementation of human rights decisions from international bodies.”

Watch the ESRC film made about the project here, and find out more on the project’s ESRC impact story page: ‘Ensuring reparations for victims of human rights violations’.

ESRC’s Executive Chair Stian Westlake said:

“The ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize is our opportunity to recognise the remarkable achievements of outstanding social scientists, whose works has harnessed the power of social science to shape a fairer and more prosperous world.

It’s been fantastic to host the ceremony, and I commend the exemplary researchers that have harnessed their ESRC-funding to make contributions beyond academia that are of potentially long-lasting and life-changing benefit to society.

From using consumer data to encourage healthier behaviour among supermarket shoppers, to helping design a COVID-19 welfare response in South Africa and tackling a town’s long-term unemployment issues, these researchers have delivered real impacts that have benefitted people all over the world.”

The ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize awards ceremony 2023 was held during the 21st ESRC Festival of Social Science, a UK wide series of events to promote and increase awareness of the contribution social science makes to the wellbeing and the economy of society in the UK.

The Celebrating Impact award ceremony can be replayed and watched online here.

Further information

The Human Rights Implementation Centre (HRIC) at the University of Bristol Law School is a leading institution for the implementation of human rights, that works in collaboration with a number of organisations and bodies, including those in the United Nations, the African Union, the Council of Europe, as well as with governments and organisations at the national level.

Our LLM in Human Rights Law reflects an area of law that is critical in providing the frameworks necessary to protect the dignity of human beings around the world. It offers students an opportunity to graduate and meet a growing demand for specialist lawyers that have human rights experience and knowledge – and a determination to tackle human rights violations.