By: Sarah Leiford
Whenever one imagines international human rights work, often the picture that comes to mind is that of standing before panels of judges in another country and passionately advocating for the human dignity of an oppressed individual. That was the initial picture in my mind, too.
But most advocacy work is accomplished behind the computer screen, in the email inbox, or through interpersonal connections made during a Tuesday night special interests conference.
Human rights work can be the impassioned speeches or life-saving interventions in the nick of time, but what may be needed most are people who are willing to sort through thousands of articles, reports, recommendations, interviews, studies, and surveys in order to provide well-reasoned calls to action for decision-makers who have no time to do the sorting themselves.
That’s what I’ve seen during my internship with the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ): a team of the most humble, hardworking, and dedicated individuals who arrive early and stay long after the office closes to create reports that both inform and advocate for change. Many members are involved with other advocacy groups outside work, and the ECLJ often organizes, coordinates, or attends conferences on a wide range of crucial issues such as persecution of Christians, the defense of life, and family rights.
In my role as an intern, I have assisted with English translations of advisory documents to be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. I have also conducted research on human rights violations in various countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Armenia.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the ECHR to see where seminal cases regarding the European Convention on Human Rights are decided. We heard about the history of the court, the creation of the convention, and how cases are processed in the ECHR’s judicial system.
During the first half of my internship, I was also able to attend a few conferences held at the European Parliament to hear more about concerns of Christians abroad. One such conference organized by other non-government organizations (NGOs) involved the persecution facing Catholic Christians in Jerusalem and Jordan. The topic surprised me because I assumed that Christians would be generally supported in Jerusalem, but with tense international relations leading to a rise in nationalist extremism in the region, Christians are experiencing increased marginalization.
Another conference that I attended discussed the persecution of Christians in Ethiopia. This was a particularly sobering conference: Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate, a member of the imperial family of Ethiopia, spoke at the conference and detailed the Ethiopian government’s failure to step in and protect Christians from attacks by extremist groups in the country.
These conferences expanded my understanding of issues that are not covered consistently or in detail by mainstream media sources.
One such seemingly forgotten issue that I have been researching is the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and its takeover by Azerbaijan in 2023. This enclave has changed hands between the countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan intermittently, but during Azerbaijan’s takeover, 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled their homes and communities in fear of further attacks by Azerbaijan. The refugees are facing a lack of concrete support from European institutions to help them return to Nagorno-Karabakh. My research into the topic has given me a clear picture of what the refugees stand to lose: their ancestral homes, their family cemeteries, their historic churches, and their connection to their ancient culture.
This has been a summer of deepening my knowledge of international human rights law and of reaffirming my passion for what is often behind-the-scenes advocacy work. As I continue my legal education at Regent University School of Law this fall, I look forward to see what future advocacy opportunities God will provide.
This post was written by a student at Regent University School of Law. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.