Lena Uvarova

Lena Uvarova holds the position of Associate Professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Kharkiv, Ukraine) and serves as a Visiting Researcher at Wageningen University's Law Group in the Netherlands. She leads the International Lab on Business and Human Rights since 2018 and has extensive experience in human rights consulting with UN agencies, OSCE, and USAID. Her expertise spans General Jurisprudence, Human Rights, Rule of Law, and Comparative Legal Studies, with a focus on Business and Human Rights in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Education highlights include a PhD in Law (2010) from Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, a Fulbright Scholar Program at the University of Utah (2019–2020), and specialized training through the OSCE Summer School and Oxfam's Virtual Course on Business and Human Rights.

Her research emphasizes corporate accountability, sustainable development, and gender studies in post-conflict contexts. Key contributions include the National Baseline Assessment on Business and Human Rights in Ukraine (with the Danish Institute for Human Rights) and the co-founding of the Central and Eastern European Association on Business and Human Rights. She co-edited a Special Issue on BHR in Eastern Europe for the 'Business and Human Rights Journal' and developed the first BHR manual in Ukraine under the Erasmus+ project HRLAW.

Uvarova has coordinated major initiatives such as panel discussions at the Kharkiv Legal Forum (2017–2021), UN Forum sessions on BHR (2020–2021), and regional consultations on investment agreements and human rights. Her work bridges academia and policy, advocating for equitable development through human rights frameworks.