Gwawr Thomas

Gwawr’s doctoral research explores the interplay between African philosophies of human dignity and the jurisprudence of African human rights mechanisms, particularly in relation to issues of criminal justice.  Her project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), through the UBEL Doctoral Training Partnership. Gwawr holds a BA in History (First Class) from the University of Cambridge, a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the University of the West of England, and an LLM in Human Rights, Conflict and Justice (with Distinction) from SOAS.  

She brings to her research a strong interdisciplinary approach, drawing on diverse fields across the humanities and social sciences to situate human rights within their historical, political and social contexts. Gwawr’s academic work is grounded in nearly two decades of legal practice both within the UK and internationally. She has extensive experience of working in Uganda and Malawi, supporting strategic litigation and policy reform on issues ranging from prolonged pre-trial detention to securing meaningful redress for survivors of sexual slavery in conflict.  She also has significant experience of representing individuals facing the death penalty, including those eligible for resentencing following successful constitutional challenges to mandatory capital sentences.    

Gwawr is a member of the Detention ExPEERience Network, a panel of experts in international detention law coordinated by Avocats Sans Frontières.  Her international research and consultancy work includes studies on the intersectional factors that render migrant workers particularly vulnerable to the death penalty (for Reprieve and the Indonesian NGO, Migrant Care); the rights of children living in prisons alongside their mothers in Sierra Leone (for AdvocAid); access to antiretroviral medication for prisoners living with HIV in Malawi (for the Centre for Capital Punishment Studies at the University of Westminster); and sentencing patterns following the implementation of Uganda’s 2013 Sentencing Guidelines (for Evolve).

Lutz Oette and Gwawr Thomas, ‘The Compatibility of the Death Penalty with the Right to Life and the Prohibition of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (SOAS Centre for Human Rights Law 2025

• Human rights theory and practice, particularly in the context of sub-Saharan Africa
• The intersections between criminal justice, punishment, and human rights  
• The role of dignity within international and regional human rights law
• The prohibition of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment as a normative and legal commitment
• Reparative justice