I am so blessed to have secured this internship and learned so much from it. My experience as an intern at ECCC was a crucial opportunity to engage with the substantial work at an ad-hoc international tribunal where I was able to see how it was functioning. As I worked closely with judges and legal officers at the Pre-Trial Chamber, I learned how teamwork can help bring about a difference in life and contribute to justice.
Most of all, it was my honor and pleasure to meet and get to know these international legal professionals who have chosen this path of life rather than the other people usually take. It was nice to see how they put their collaborative efforts together to seek their ways to truth and contribute to justice by brining those most responsible for crimes against humanity to justice, thereby seeking God’s Kingdom and righteousness in the end.
As a Korean national, I am interested in North Korean human rights. Personally, I saw this internship as a great opportunity to further my understanding of human rights issues at the international level so that I could broaden my perspectives beyond North Korean matters. Also, I strongly believe the ECCC’s hybrid court would be a promising model for the united Korea when we have to bring war criminals and human rights violators to justice. This opportunity certainly gave me an insight into the work of the United Nations and international tribunals, in particular. Even though I had to be away from home for this internship and bear with unhygienic environment and hot weather, it turned out to be worthy of doing it. I strongly encourage law school students to apply for this internship and experience the “greatness” I have elaborated throughout this report.
After all, I came to realize that I should not only stay awake and pray but also ponder on how I should respond to today’s human rights challenges and come up with ways to protect human rights in situations of conflict, violence and insecurity, especially those of North Koreans and also how to bring such human rights violators to justice.