2008 ASIL Helton Fellows

In 2008, ASIL awarded fellowships to 12 outstanding students and young professionals from over 50 applications received from individuals throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Oceania, and North and South America. We are pleased to introduce the 2008 Helton Fellows as follows:

Reena Arora: JD Candidate, New York University School of Law. Reena’s project will focus on building the capacity of the MAP Foundation (Migrant Assistance Programme), a leading NGO on Burmese migrant workers issues in Thailand. Reena’s goals for the MAP Foundation include instituting an international human rights framework, enhancing its capabilities for regional and international advocacy, and assisting its member workers with strategic planning on how to vindicate their rights.

Andrew Boyle: JD Candidate, UCLA School of Law. Andrew will be working with International Bridges to Justice, an NGO that works to build fairer and more equitable criminal justice systems around the world, to strengthen efforts to protect human rights and access to justice for prisoners in Burundi. In addition to his research, Andrew will coordinate criminal defense lawyer trainings and roundtable to encourage discourse amongst actors in the Burundi criminal justice system.

Paul Kingsley Clark: Masters Candidate in Public Law, University of Paris, LL.M Graduate, McGill University. Paul’s fieldwork will support the Center for Social Development’s initiative to promote democratic values and improve the quality of life for the people of Cambodia. His goal is to gain a greater understanding of the interactions between victims and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). He will be gathering evidence from victims, members of government, community leaders and tribunal officials.

Alice Jill Edwards: PhD Candidate, Australian National University. Alice will be participating in a project with the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham on refugee women in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the first policy on refugee women issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Part of her research will include conducting field visits to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Sarah R. Eremus: JD Candidate, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada. Sarah will work with the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), an NGO based in Canada that provides refugee assistance for Iranian homosexuals. Her work will include reviewing and supporting petitions for refugee status to Canada and Europe as well as research the extent that homophobia has played in suppressing human rights for homosexuals in Iran.

Benedetta Faedi: PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Law. Benedetta will investigate the incentives and rationale for Haitian victims of rape and sexual abuse to join and become active in armed groups in association with the Child Protection Unit of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Her study will examine the potential roles and strategies that international legal institutions could envisage for improving women’s participation in conflict resolution and peace building processes in Haiti.

Anna Gay: LL.M Candidate, New York University School of Law. Continuing on her studies of cases of resettlement where the needs of relocation are based on security issues, Anna will be working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, Thailand. Anna’s research will observe how Thailand fulfills its international obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention in selecting asylum seekers under its national resettlement policies.

Ziad Haider: JD Candidate, Georgetown University Law Center. Ziad will intern with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief on a range of governance and rule of law issues, including such matters as forced disappearances and women’s rights in Pakistan. Ziad will also support the HRCP legal staff in court proceedings and will train them on conducting advocacy work in the United States.

Jennifer Ismat: JD Candidate, St. John’s University School of Law. Jennifer will be working with the Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) organization in Cairo, Egypt this summer. Through AMERA, Jennifer will directly provide legal services to refugees in Egypt as well as work on several advocacy projects that entail the examination of refugee rights and the efficacy of international human rights in Cairo.

Patrick N. Karanja: Bachelor of Laws Graduate, Moi University. Patrick will be working with the Human Rights Education and Outreach Programme of the Kenya Human Rights Commission to advance the United Nations World Programme for Human Rights Education. Patrick’s main focus will be to facilitate and assist students in over 10 pilot phase schools to develop Human Rights Clubs, which will serve to complement formal curriculum reforms aimed at integrating human rights education in Kenya’s school system.

Kathleen M. Leslie: JD Candidate, University of Western Ontario School of Law. Kathleen will be working with a global team as part of the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Improvement for Nations Development (MIND) project in conjunction with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. Kathleen will assist in the development of the draft WHO instrument on human rights monitoring in mental health facilities and will help draft a country summary describing WHO’s support in the area of mental health policy, planning, and service development of law reform.

Kate Oja: JD Candidate, University of Toronto School of Law. Kate will be working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Protection Unit in Rabat, Morocco. She will be providing legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom are from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kate will also be supporting the UNHCR in promoting national refugee legislation and status determination procedures.

For more information, please contact: Veronica Onorevole, ASIL Senior Programs Associate at fellowship@asil.org or + 1 202 939 6000.