Ramya Nagesh (from UK)

I got a great insight into human rights law and Kurdish human rights issues, and benefitted from gaining practical knowledge about the available European mechanisms to help enforce international standards. My days were always engaging and often diverse as I worked on research for cases put before the ECtHR, to writing training packs for lawyers in Iraq and Turkey. I was also given the opportunity to attend the EUTCC in Brussels. KHRP’s staff members and interns were all friendly and approachable, and I found the organisation had a down-to-earth, enjoyable atmosphere. I also valued the chance to meet and work with people from all sorts of backgrounds. Overall, my internship gave me a positive and extremely useful introduction to human rights, and helped to make it clear for me that this would be the practice area that I wished to follow.

Nsangou Yenkong (from Cameroon)

As a legal intern at KHRP, my main task was to research the human rights situation of Kurds living in the South Caucasus. This helped to enhance my knowledge of the plight of Kurds and the various international legal obligations that governments within the Caucasus need to abide by. KHRP is noted for its multicultural diversity and during my internship I was able to establish good working relationships with fellow interns and colleagues alike. I am currently working on a proposed European-funded project on the Constitutional Protection and Judicial Enforceability of Human Rights Law in Cameroon. The experience gained from my earlier internship at KHRP has not only proved instructive in my present position, but I believe will continue to be advantageous to any future research projects that I work on.

Carolyn Slauson Ali (from the US)

I gained a tremendous understanding of the case law of the ECtHR. My first project involved indexing 105 legal judgments handed down in complaints successfully brought by KHRP to the ECtHR, for the organisation’s online Resource Centre. In going through so many cases, I gained a sense of the trends and patterns of litigation being brought by KHRP on behalf of people living in the Kurdish regions. I also appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the work of the Legal Team. Perhaps the most rewarding experience was to be among such amazing interns from around the world and to interact with a staff and Board committed to protecting and improving the rights of the people they serve. I am tremendously grateful for the opportunity afforded to interns at KHRP and hope that there will be future opportunities to be engaged in their important work.

Orsane Broisin (from France)

I mainly contributed to KHRP’s Legal Review, working on compiling news, legal developments and translating and summarising legal cases from French to English, which was very interesting. I also drafted a paper for a seminar on women’s rights, and a brief strategy paper to look at how other campaigns had succeeded in halting controversial dam-building and what, if any, tactics could be used by KHRP in relation to the Ilısu Dam Project in Turkey. The experience broadened my knowledge of minority rights’ issues in the Middle-East, the power dynamics at play in the Kurdish issue, and the impact of EcTHR judgments in the region. Above all, I was glad to see the impact of KHRP’s strategy and the invaluable work they carry out in their effort to promote human rights in the region. It is not easy to leave KHRP, and yes, most of us would like to stay longer.