Human Rights Pulse - The Passion Factor (Pursuing a Career in Human Rights) – Details, episodes & analysis

Manu Krishan is a human rights professional with an expertise on the rights of the child. He was responsible in the coordination and assistance to the Independent Expert leading the United Nations Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty and since then works in the Global Campus of Human Rights, where he coordinates and leads the global study follow up and dissemination programme.

Manu first studied philosophy before completing a Master of arts in human rights and has worked for a number of International Organisations, and NGOs.

In this interview, we discuss Manu’s early career path, the power of LinkedIn, mentorship, and the importance of self-care.

Cara is a journalist and has been reporting and writing about crime, trafficking and human rights issues in the U.S. and abroad. Her work touches on all aspects of justice, including policing, migration, prisons, drugs, technology, and violence.

She has written for publications such as Marie Claire, "O" Oprah Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Washington Post Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, and Scientific American.

From 2008-2015 she was the Deputy Director of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. While there, she also served as the Managing Editor of the daily news service, The Crime Report.

Cara is currently senior associate, media progammes at the Population Reference Bureau  where she manages their flagship USAID program Women’s Edition which trains female journalists in South Asia and Africa on public health issues.  In this interview, we discuss having an ‘international itch’, the value of advanced study, balance, and burnout.

Toby is a barrister and the Co-founder and Head of Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers in London. He is an established international law specialist in the areas of international criminal and humanitarian law, international terrorism, anti-corruption, maritime security, extradition and mutual legal assistance, and human rights law.

Toby has appeared and been instructed in matters before the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the European Court of Human Rights, the Bosnian War Crimes Chamber, the UN Human Rights Committee and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights.

In our chat, we discuss entering the law from a non-traditional background, on-the-job risks and dangers, networking, taking Syria to the ICJ and Kung Fu!

Octavio Amezcua Noriega is a Human Rights officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico City, where he is in charge of the torture and criminal justice agenda. In previous roles, he worked at the Federal Government in Mexico in the design of public policies for the assistance and reparation of victims of human rights violations and as legal director of the Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CMDPDH) in Mexico, where he worked on strategic litigation on human rights.

In our interview, we discuss the value and timing of undertaking a Masters degree, crafting a ‘human rights’ CV and top tips for breaking into the UN. Octavio also shares details of his day-to-day life as a Human Rights Officer at the UN and his career highlights litigating cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. We also talk about the importance of self-care for human rights professionals.

Olivia Rope is the Executive Director of Penal Reform International (PRI) in London.  Olivia is a qualified lawyer and has a law degree from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and an LLM in International and European law from the University of Amsterdam.  She has worked for Amnesty International in both Brussels and New Zealand. Olivia is a leading expert in global criminal justice issues. 

In this conversation, we discuss Olivia’s typical day at PRI, career highlights, undertaking international advocacy in COVID times, networking, and getting hooked on International law!

Fernanda Perez Solla is Austrian and is a Complaints Review Officer at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg. Fernanda has worked with the World Bank, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and academia.  Her work has taken her to the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  She is admitted to the Bars of New York State and Buenos Aires. We talk about crafting a ‘human rights’ CV, the importance of languages, networking and the importance of self-care.

Manfred Nowak is Secretary General of the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice, Professor of International Human Rights at Vienna University and Director of the Vienna Master of Arts in Human Rights. He is now the Director of the newly established and world-wide unique Master program in Applied Human Rights at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

He has served in various expert functions, including as UN Expert on enforced disappearances (1993-2006), UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (2004-2010), judge at the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996-2003) and Vice Chairperson of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (2013-2018).

Manfred has held various senior academic positions at a number of institutions in Europe and North America (Stanford University, Palo Alto).

We discuss Manfred’s own human rights journey, the value of international experience, how to break into the UN (tip - start in the field!), life as a former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (18 hour days!) and his career highlights.  We also discuss self-care and safety in conflict zones and the value of mentorship.

Tehmina currently works for the Why me? charity as a Project Manager, on a new project that aims to widen access to Restorative Justice for victims of crime with English as an Additional Language. From 2016 to 2018, she was a policy and advocacy officer for CESCA (Cork Equal and Sustainable Communities Alliance), an alliance of 18 equality and human rights groups in Cork, Ireland, which involved extensive policy submissions on issues like the eradication of racial and gender discrimination and the future of policing.

From 2009 to 2016, she was the Director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy, a registered charity which aimed to tackle both anti-Muslim sentiment and extremism. She has 13 years experience in the human rights sector.

In this interview we discuss skills and qualities to work in the sector, networking, the importance of self-care and finding your niche as a human rights professional.

Professor Leslie Thomas QC is a barrister at Garden Court chambers in London.  He is a leading expert in claims against the police and other public authorities, claims against corporate bodies, with expertise across the full spectrum of civil wrongs, civil litigation, human rights, data and privacy claims. He is an expert in all aspects of inquests and public inquiries, having represented many bereaved families, in particular where there has been abuse of state or corporate power. In November 2020, Professor Thomas won the Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion Award at the Chambers UK Bar Awards.
We discuss Professor Thomas’ early career representing Poll Tax protestors and his transition to his current practice. We also talk about the important qualities required to work in human rights, the value of networking, career highlights, his typical day and ‘list of monkeys’.  Finally, we talk about burnout and stress and his call to “take time out to sharpen the saw”.

In this episode, Vicki Prais speaks with Nathalie Prouvez.  The discussion covers Nathalie’s route into the human rights world, the importance and value of advanced study and languages, UN Volunteers, securing a UN internship, mentorship and self-care.

Nathalie worked at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2002-2020. In 2010, she was appointed Chief of the Rule of Law and Democracy Section.  Her previous positions at the UN have included Secretary of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Secretary of the Human Rights Committee. From 1995-2002, Nathalie was Legal Officer for Europe and Central Asia at the International Commission of Jurists.  She started her career as an academic, teaching in universities. She has a PhD in law from Lille University.