Role
Farah leads on human rights at the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP). Her work on human rights intersects closely with conflict and identity and she specialises in the fields of minority rights and transitional justice.
She is the co-coordinator of the MA Global Development and Humanitarian Practice (MA GDHP) and she currently holds a British Academy Knowledge Frontiers award for research on post-war justice for women in Lebanon and Sri Lanka.
Farah is an activist scholar who works with local communities towards rights and justice in conflict affected countries, especially in her home country Sri Lanka. She is a passionate advocate for justice and has recently integrated decolonial methods and approaches into her teaching and research.
Teaching and supervision
Courses
Modules taught
- Conflict, Humanitarian Action and Human Rights
- Human Rights and Forced Migration: International Protection in the 21 st Century
- Dissertation supervision
Farah also teaches on decolonial theory and approaches in various modules.
Research
My research is fundamentally concerned with giving voice to ‘othered’ ‘subalternised’ groups, especially women, on their experiences and understanding of justice, sits at the intersection of minority rights and transitional justice both of which I approach through a decolonial critique.
I am the Principle Investigator in a British Academy Knowledge Frontier grant on ‘Sustaining women’s justice struggles and transforming transitional justice’ in Lebanon and Sri Lanka (2024- 26) . The research seeks to move beyond critique of transitional justice to use decolonial approaches to understand how women war survivors interpret justice and explore whether this challenges dominant global models such as truth commissions and prosecution mechanisms available within the field. In doing so it also supports up to 48 women activists in both countries to sustain their struggles for justice on a range of issues from finding their missing loved ones, fighting domestic violence to returning to their homelands.
I am also the Principle Investigator in an European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
(EIDHR) grant on Minority Empowerment for Democracy and Pluralism in Sri Lanka (2024-26). This work explores the systemic and structural challenges minority groups and women in these groups face when attempting to enter and succeed in national level politics.
In addition to research outputs from the above projects I am currently working on a
conceptualising ‘Compounded Suffering in the post War,’ which through decolonial analysis seeks
to understand and analyse suffering in post war contexts. An Abstract of this work can be found here.
Research impact
- Mihlar, F. Divided and weakened the collapse of minority politics in Sri Lanka. London: Minority Rights Group International, June 2025.
- International Crisis Group. Sri Lanka’s conflict affected women: dealing with the legacy of war. Asia Report No 289. Brussels: ICG, 28 July 2017.
- Mihlar, F. 'Everything has shattered';- rising levels of violence against Shia in Pakistan. Minority Rights Group International briefing paper. London: MRG, 2014.
- Mihlar, F. Israel’s denial of the Bedouin. Minority Rights Group International briefing paper. London: MRG, 2010.
- Mihlar, F. No war, no peace: the denial of minority rights and justice in post war Sri Lanka. Minority Rights Group International Full Report. London: MRG, 2010.
- Mihlar, F. Voices from the margins: including the perspectives of minorities and indigenous people in the post-2015 development agenda. Minority Rights Group International briefing paper. MRG: London, 2013.
Projects as Principal Investigator, or Lead Academic if project is led by another Institution
- Farah M - additional funds for the Knowledge Frontiers 2024 award (01/05/2024 - 31/12/2024), funded by: British Academy, funding amount received by Brookes: £1,400
- A comparative study on how women victim group leaders and activists sustain justice campaigns in the long-term when state led transitional justice fails? (11/04/2024 - 10/04/2026), funded by: British Academy, funding amount received by Brookes: £193,188
- Minorities, intersectional disadvantage, and pluralism in Sri Lanka (Led by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) ) (01/02/2024 - 31/01/2026), funded by: European Commission, funding amount received by Brookes: £30,119
Publications
Professional information
Memberships of professional bodies
I am part of a small group of academics working on decolonising minority rights and transitional justice.
Consultancy
I continue to do consultancies on conflict transformation and peacebuilding. I am regularly invited to present in UN Forums and participate in expert meetings on minority rights and transitional justice.
Further details
Prior to joining academia I had a long-standing career working for international human rights and
conflict prevention organisations including Minority Rights Group International, International
Crisis Group. I have also worked within the UN at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights and as a consultant for country offices and the United Nations Development Programme.
Prior posts
- Sep 2019 Lecturer in Conflict Studies, Department of Politics, University of Exeter.
- Jan 2019 Module Convener and lecturer, Indigenous People and Minority Rights for the MA in Human Rights, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.
- Jan 2018 Module Convener and lecturer, Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Human Rights for the MA in Conflict, Security and Development, Department of Politics, University of Exeter.
- Jan 2018 Guest lecturer, Religious Peace Building for the MA in Religion and Reconciliation (online), University of Winchester.
- 2016-2018 Guest lecturer, Indigenous People and Minority Rights for the MA in Human Rights, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.
- 2016-2018 Research consultancies with the European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Crisis Group (ICG) and International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES).
- 2013- 15 Head of Asia, Minority Rights Group International, London.
- 2005-13 Media Officer and Programme Coordinator, Minority Rights Group International, London.
- 2005 Media Officer, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Geneva.
- 1998-2004 Journalism post including with BBC World Service, London; Reuters; Times of India; Daily Mirror Newspaper, Sri Lanka; ETV, Sri Lanka and Capital Radio, Sri Lanka.