Even before passing the bar, law students at the University of Toronto have been making huge waves in shaping the state of human rights across the globe.
For the past 25 years, the university's faculty of law has been home to the International Human Rights Program (IHRP), which has seen students play a vital role in a number of cases righting wrongs, interning on a variety of landmark cases revolving around gender-based violence, refugee rights, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights and more.Working on active cases, the students have not only improved human rights in dozens of countries, but they have also gained invaluable experience in actual legal settings. While the students themselves lack real-world experience, they are often thrown into situations where their enthusiasm and eagerness are enormous assets.The students' work has brought about results, from helping a number of Roma people receive a monetary settlement after their village was burned down to ongoing work in trying to get the Kenyan government to provide reparations to victims of child rape after the government's alleged failure to investigate and charge suspects. "Last year, we produced a report with PEN International on violence against journalists in Mexico," said Renu Mandhane, director of the IHRP."We were interveners with Human Rights Watch in the (Omar) Khadr case and interveners in the (Leon) Mugesera case."Mandhane said the program is ideal for students as it gives them much-needed experience and exposure to a side of law they would otherwise not get through a conventional law school education."It introduces our students to international opportunities early in their careers," she said.The program started out on a small scale, with seven students participating when it first started up in 1987. Now, 25 years later, the IHRP sees roughly 20 law students taking on cases that have a huge impact globally.Law student and IHRP participant Sofia Ijaz has worked on a number of cases throughout her involvement with the program, from those involving abuses against Guantanamo Bay detainees to human rights violations against prisoners in the West Bank."We worked with child detainees and detainees with serious medical conditions," she said."I got to monitor trials and do a lot of background research for trials, which gave me a really practical view of what it means to practice in this field."Ijaz added that helping those who are being denied basic human rights was her reason for entering law school in the first place. While she has fought to improve human rights in other capacities, the IHRP allows her to take a more hands-on approach in helping to create lasting change."The law gives you the tools to be able to practically help people," she said.Fellow student Morgan Sim has worked on cases involving the International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda and with the Equality Effect to help bring restitution to child rape survivors in Kenya. She said, despite the U of T students' relative inexperience, their work has been highly valued. In return, the students have received valuable mentorship from established lawyers working on the cases."A lot of organizations working on human rights are chronically understaffed, so you have a lot of opportunities to contribute," she said. "When you have the enthusiasm and the willingness to put the time in, you can really help."The IHRP will celebrate 25 years of helping to improve human rights around the world with an upcoming photo and interactive web exhibition. The free exhibit, titled 'Transformative Human Rights: 25 years in the Field', will feature photos, a map, a timeline and other elements to help capture the students' experiences.It will run from Friday, Feb. 10 through Thursday, Feb. 23 at the University of Toronto Art Centre, 15 King's College Circle.For more information about the exhibit or the IHRP, visit www.utorontoihrp.com