My name is Alexis Scott, and I am a graduate student in 缅北强奸鈥檚 Political Science Department. After spending my first year of graduate studies following courses in human rights and humanitarianism at Sciences Po, Paris, I will be returning to 缅北强奸 this Fall to finish up my coursework and draft my thesis. My academic and professional interests focus on the unique challenges facing human rights in post-Soviet states, especially in Central Asia.
This summer, I interned with the Universal Rights Group (URG)鈥攁 Geneva-based human rights think-tank. While I was initially intending to spend the summer with a local LGBT rights group in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the pandemic put an end to these plans and compelled me to look for other work arrangements relevant to my interests. In pursuing the internship with the URG as an alternative, I hoped to benefit from the opportunity of working with an independent organisation positioned at the heart of the international human rights regime. In addition to gaining exposure to the specific tasks that characterise human rights work at the international level, I was eager to learn more about contemporarily-relevant areas of human rights (including the complex implications for human rights of COVID-19), as well as hone my professional writing and research skills.
The URG is an organisation committed to supporting and strengthening the international human rights system by providing rigorous and accessible research and analysis. It also works to provide a non-political and informal platform for dialogue and the exchange of best-practices on human rights, to empower a broad range of States and other stakeholders to take part in the international human rights regime. Working through a combination of policy reports and dialogues, the URG strives to build consensus around potential solutions to the various pressing challenges facing the regime in order to close the highly-problematic gap between human rights policy-making and implementation.
Working with the URG proved to be a challenging and rewarding experience. I was kept busy throughout the summer with a vast range of assignments. During the 44th听session of the Human Rights Council, I was responsible for composing Tweets and infographics summarising daily interactive dialogues and final voting procedures. I also contributed a section to the URG鈥檚 summary report on the session.
In support of the think tank鈥檚 work on enhancing the capacity of the UN system to prevent the escalation of human rights abuses, I was charged with composing five policy briefs on country-specific and thematic topics to be incorporated in the Prevention Project鈥檚 final report. I was also responsible for attending five Webinars on topics related to the URG鈥檚 work and submitting detailed write-ups on the events for internal circulation. Additionally, following the June 2020 Oslo+ digital meeting on the role of human rights in COVID-19 recovery efforts, I was tasked with drafting a ten-page report summarising the proceedings, to be published on the URG website.
My work also consisted of several data-related tasks. Throughout the internship, I compiled ten听spreadsheets documenting information related to the Prevention Project which will be used to create graphics for the team鈥檚 final report. My final assignment was centered around updating a statistical model designed to predict the number of resolutions to be adopted in the six future sessions of the Human Rights Council, using R, in order to gauge the effectiveness of reforms designed to improve the Council鈥檚 efficiency.
While I will not be receiving credit for the internship, the exposure to the intricacies of a Geneva-based human rights organisation as well as the opportunity to develop my writing and data skills in a professional setting have provided me with invaluable work experience. The variety and volume of tasks with which I was charged have pushed me to grow increasingly accustomed to adjusting my schedule in accordance with new assignments and working on multiple projects at once. Moreover, carrying out this internship remotely has allowed me to develop strategies for working effectively at home鈥攊ncluding setting a schedule that allows for frequent short breaks and being prepared to respond and adapt to technical difficulties. Considering the uncertainty that has come to characterise all aspects of our personal, academic, and professional lives, I know that these experiences will play a role in preparing me for my remote studies and employment this coming semester, as well as for a potentially remote professional career in the coming years.
In light of these experiences and the countless benefits that I have reaped from them, I would like to sincerely thank听Mr. Garvin Brown for听supporting my pursuit of this unpaid opportunity. The Susan Casey Brown Fund for 缅北强奸, 缅北强奸 International Experience Awards, has covered most of my accommodation and other expenses this summer, giving me peace of mind and a sense of financial stability.
