IHRP Summer Letters: 2009

Every summer, the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the U of T Faculty of Law offers students the unique opportunity to work on human rights projects "in the field."  While they are working on their internships, they write to us with an account of their exceptional experiences working with international and non-governmental organizations on a range of pressing human rights issues. Here is a selection of the letters from the summer of 2009.

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

Tuca Bihari (back row, middle) with women belonging to the community health team at Sanchetana, a community health centre in Ahmedabad, India Luiz Arthur (Tuca) Bihari  Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, New Delhi, India "My project was a great learning experience. I met amazing people who have been transforming their communities and the society around them. I met a woman who runs a human rights clinic deep in a forest region in central India. Her success in bringing justice to her community through legal advocacy has decreased social tensions and made even those who were previously involved in armed insurgencies drop their guns and join her in adopting nonviolent ways of continuing their struggle for social justice." Read more >>

Brendan Morrison Burma Lawyers' Council, Mae Sot, Thailand "It's been an honour to work for these men and women and an inspiration to see them persevere every day.  I arrived here with an inexperienced interest in international criminal law. After working side-by-side with lawyers who had their practice shut down in Rangoon, elected parliamentarians who were thrown in jail without trial, and refugee law students who cannot leave their safe-house and await the day when they can help establish the rule of law in their country, my passions for this practice have been ignited." Read more >> Brendan Morrison writes a speech with the Chairman of the Burma Lawyers' Council, U Thein Oo, for a presentation at the Korean Lawyers Association in Seoul later that week

Aneesa Walji at the headquarters of Human Rights Watch Aneesa Walji Human Rights Watch, New York "I learned a great deal not only about international criminal law but also about the nuances of the political background on which it operates. Of course, I also learned about the art of advocacy design and practice. Human Rights Watch is an organization renowned for its advocacy and so I was thankful to be regularly invited to meetings with staff members discussing whether to intervene on issues and if so, how. The frank discussions that took place were an eye opener. It was enlightening to understand the important considerations that shape advocacy strategies." Read more >>

Milton Castelen Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Toronto, Canada "The goal of the HIV and the Criminal Law project is to track, collect and process all available case law data to inform/educate all stakeholders involved in the so-called HIV criminal cases. In this project I delivered two specific outputs: an updated tracking list of the HIV sexual assault cases tried in Canada from January 2007 to present; and the development of a sentencing chart, highlighting the sentences and their reasons given between January 2006 to present by the courts in Canada in (aggravated) sexual assault HIV cases where transmission of HIV or exposure to HIV occurred." Read more >> IHRP interns Milton Castelen and Sandra Dughman, both graduate students enrolled in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Law Program

Rebecca Sutton hiking in the South African countryside Rebecca Sutton Forced Migration Studies Program (FMSP), Johannesburg, South Africa "The FMSP Migrant Rights Monitoring Project research team developed an in-depth survey that they administered to more than 300 detainees at Lindela Detention Centre. My own role was to develop a qualitative survey that complements this main questionnaire. My questions focused mainly on experiences of prolonged detention, the administration of justice, and the experience of living in legal limbo. Once the questions were approved and I was granted access to the facility, I travelled to Lindela over a period of several weeks and conducted one-on-one qualitative interviews with 25 of the detainees there. I can say that visiting Lindela and spending time hearing the stories of detainees was truly an eye-opening experience." Read more >>

Erin Hallock United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Kathmandu, Nepal "I have had the opportunity to engage in all areas of UNHCR's work, though my focus has been on the urban refugee population. I have conducted legal research and prepared memoranda in support of refugee status determination in complex cases, and I have helped to assess and develop programs to meet the needs of the refugees living in Kathmandu." Read more >> Erin Hallock pictured with colleagues from UNHCR at a Photo Exhibition marking World Refugee Day in Kathmandu, Nepal

Ryan Liss at the UN Security Council Ryan Liss Coalition for the International Criminal Court, New York "It has been an incredibly interesting time to be involved with the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC). Yesterday, the Registrar of the Court — the individual charged with managing all the administrative functions of the International Criminal Court (ICC) - stopped by the office for a meeting. A few weeks ago, I monitored a promising meeting of states attempting to define the Crime of Aggression as it pertains to the ICC. Days earlier, I sat in on the ICC Prosecutor’s biannual address to the UN Security Council. A week prior, the President of the Court came by the Coalition for a meeting." Read more >>