International Human Rights Program

IHRP Past Intern Experiences

Every year, the U of T Faculty of Law's International Human Rights Program (IHRP) sends interns interns funded by the faculty and by participating law firms to work in human rights organizations in countries around the world. Interns send summer letters to alumni during their internship, and then file a more detailed report once they are finished. Below are links to the summer letters and selected featured reports.

2010: Featured Reports

Heather Burnett
Irish Family Planning Association, Dublin, Ireland

"During my first five weeks at the office, I wrote a shadow report for the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding Ireland’s lack of progress on reproductive health rights under the respective covenant. I am currently working on a similar report for the UN’s Universal Periodic Review. This report will have a broader focus, and will survey the large variety of international agreements to which Ireland’s criminalization of abortion is contrary."

Read more 2010 reports >>

Heather Burnett (right)
IHRP intern Heather Burnett at the Irish Family Planning Association.

2009: Summer Letters

Eileen Rhein
Human Rights Law Network, Delhi, India

"I am interning in the Women's Justice Initiative ... this initiative provides comprehensive free legal services to low income and marginalized women, and utilizes legal education, advocacy and policy analysis to promote equal rights for women.  With such a broad range of activities, days in the office vary drastically, with the result that there is always something new and interesting for me to engage in, from trips to the Court and client interviews, to conferences and intra-office roundtables."

Read all the 2009 summer letters >>

Eileen Rhein
Eileen Rhein on a field visit to a local village outside New Delhi

2008: Summer Letters

Steven Hoffman
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

"My work for the World Health Organization has been rewarding, challenging and inspiring, and has proved to be one of the most valuable learning experiences of my life. The opportunity to engage in meaningful, hands-on work in an international context has brought new relevance to my academic studies."

Read all the 2008 summer letters >>

Steven Hoffman with WHO Director-General Margaret Chan
Steven Hoffman (left) with WHO Director-General Margaret Chan

2007: Summer Letters

 
Kate Oja
Open Dialogue Project (ODP), Uzbekistan

"The ODP is working to provide training, separately, for both human rights defenders and government officials, in order to better equip them with the skills in communication, conflict management and negotiation that are the foundations for a trusting and constructive relationship in the future."

Read all the 2007 summer letters >>

Kate Oja (right)
Kate Oja (right) with a member of her host family

2006: Summer Letters

 
Tara Doolan
Girl Child Network (Zimbabwe)

"I began the summer by drafting legislation aimed at helping protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  At present, no such legislation exists to offer specific protection to children, and so GCN took the initiative to begin drafting a bill called the Child Sexual Offences Bill."

Read all the 2006 summer letters >>

The Director of the Girl Child Network, Betty Makoni (left), with Tara Doolan
The Director of the Girl Child Network, Betty Makoni (left), with Tara Doolan

2005: Summer Letters

 
Laura Hage
Asociacion Casa Alianza (Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala)

"Casa Alianza's legal mandate is to protect, defend and enforce children's rights. I have had the opportunity to interact and work with a group of dedicated and exceptional people, as well as live several experiences that have made my time here worthwhile and unforgettable."

Read all the 2005 summer letters >>

Laura Hage with Casa Alianza Legal Programme colleague Manases
IHRP intern Laura Hage with a colleague at the Casa Alianza Legal Program

2004: Featured Reports

 
Stephanie Pearce at HURINET, Uganda 
IHRP Intern Stephanie Pearce at HURINET, Uganda
Stephanie Pearce
HURINET, Uganda

"I spent ten weeks from June to mid-August 2004 working for HURINET, a small human rights organization in Uganda. ... During my time at HURINET and in Uganda I learned invaluable lessons about the practicalities of human rights work in a developing country, the interaction between international and domestic human rights law, and the role of a foreign lawyer - or law intern - in effecting change.  This experience was heart breaking, mind bending and definitely life changing."

Read all the 2004 featured reports >>

2004: Summer Letters

 
IHRP Intern Dylan Budd in meeting with Cabinet official Ching-Huei Hsieh
IHRP Intern Dylan Budd (right) in meeting with Cabinet official Ching-Huei Hsieh to discuss Yuan Peng's request for political asylum		Dylan Budd
Taiwan Association for Human Rights (Taiwan)

"I am currently assisting on two cases of political refugees from Mainland China who are being detained here in Taiwan after fleeing the Mainland. They are both seeking political asylum in the United States. The Taiwanese process of requesting refugee status and government assistance in arranging third-country asylum is largely informal. Working with Taiwan Association for Human RIGHTS (TAHR), we met with a Cabinet member, Ching-Huei Hsieh, to lobby for the government to make an asylum request to the U.S. government."

Read all the 2004 summer letters >>

2003: Featured Reports

 

International Human Rights Intern Max Morgan at the International Council of Aids Service Organizations and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland.		Max Morgan
International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO), Toronto, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Geneva, Switzerland

"My experiences were both enriching and rewarding. I felt that I was able to significantly contribute to the work of both organizations while also learning a great deal about international human rights work and advocacy, especially with respect to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Splitting the summer between these two organizations had the added benefit of exposing me to both the civil society as well as the international organizational responses to international human rights concerns."

Read all of the 2003 featured reports >>