[3] In 2018 she and her co-authors, Heiner Bielefeldt and Michael Wiener, were given the inaugural (Senior) Alberigo Award for their 2016 work,Freedom of Religion or Belief: An International Law Commentary.

[4] She became the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on 1 August 2022 when she succeeded Professor Ahmed Shaheed of the University of Essex.

It is an unpaid position to support the commitment of 173 countries to article 18 which states "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Ghanea had not been asked to get involved professionally but she was concerned at what had influenced a city to unrest - which she had seen as a beacon of religious tolerance.

[1] Ghanea has been a member of the panel organised by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to assist OSCE nations with achieving religious freedoms.