By: Alyssa Isberto
This summer I am interning for Just Law International and Jubilee Campaign. Just Law International is an immigration law firm that focuses on aiding refugees and asylum seekers and Jubilee Campaign is a non-profit organization centered around advocacy for international religious freedom. Both are directed by Ms. Ann Buwalda, which is why I get the opportunity to work for both.
The First Two Weeks
I have only been working here for two weeks, but so much has already happened! For one, I was able to help prepare for a hearing regarding one of our immigration cases. I focused on researching environmental and economic conditions regarding the client’s country of origin. Side note (because little kids are funny): the client’s five-year-old son came to me, pointed to a picture of North Korea on my screen, and told me about how he visited and saw orcas.
I have also been working on a report on South Korea that discusses the numerous human rights violations occurring in the country. This will be sent to the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review. I wrote about the issues of religious persecution and domestic violence. I also highlighted their treatment of North Korea defectors and issues on sex trafficking.
March for Religious Prisoners of Conscience
The most exciting work I’ve been part of was the International Religious Freedom Summit. This was a three day event, and during it, Jubilee Campaign led a march for religious prisoners of conscience and hosted three events at the summit.
During the march, a group of people from different non-profit organizations and different faiths came together to deliver letters to different embassies whose countries were holding religious prisoners of conscience. These letters highlighted the blatant human rights abuses done by the country and demanded them to release their prisoners of conscience. There are so many countries where freedom of religion and belief is restricted and people are imprisoned because of their faith.
IRF Summit 2022
Jubilee Campaign also hosted three events concerning Nigeria and Algeria. During one of the events, we had a lawyer from Nigeria come and speak about one of his cases. It was fascinating to hear about the legal system in Nigeria and hear about his advocacy for his client who was incarcerated for his religious beliefs.
When we weren’t hosting an event, I got to hear from many other religious freedom activists. At some point during the summit, I got to meet and speak to Mariam Ibrahim. During her second pregnancy, she was arrested for apostasy and was forced to give birth to her child in prison.
The Fight for the Freedom of Religion or Belief
Words can not express how meaningful and impactful the past two weeks have been. I knew before coming into law school that I was interested in advocating for international religious freedom, but my experience with Jubilee Campaign and the IRF summit have truly confirmed for me that this is what I want to spend my life working towards. Looking forward to the rest of my time with Just Law International and Jubilee Campaign!
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice Student Staff member. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.