It’s that time of year again - CLA summer interns around the world!
Classes are over, exams are done, and the summer is well under way. And with the advent of summer CLA interns have set off on their summer experiences across Canada and the world for their placements with CLA partner organizations. This year CLA has 19 interns in Asia, Africa, South and Central America and in Canada’s north, working on important legal issues while simultaneously improving their legal skills.
CLA is pleased to be continuing our partnerships with such organizations and groups as Beyond Borders and ECPAT, an NGO dedicated to ending child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes; the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council; the Federation of Women Layers in Kenya; the Legal Services Board of Nunavut; the Law Society of Nunavut; and the Yukon Conservation Society.
And they're off! (Photo courtesy of Brendan Brock)
In addition, CLA is particularly excited about our new partnerships with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation in Thunder Bay, Ontario; the Mikisew Cree First Nation in Fort McMurray, Alberta; the Council of Yukon First Nations; and Lawyers without Borders/Avocats Sans Frontieres Canada (LWB/ASF) with placements in Guatemala City, Guatemala and Bogota, Colombia.
Through our partnership with LWB/ASF, the Guatemala Human Rights Law Office has welcomed our intern, Brendon Brock, a law student from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. Brendan has extensive experience living and working in Central America, having spent a year studying and working in Mexico, as well as developing and administering a pilot English education program for at-risk children living around a Guatemala City garbage dump.
At the Guatemalan Human Rights Law Office, Brendan’s role will be to support the research needs of Guatemalan lawyers, draft legal memoranda, attend and observe trials, draft newsletters on the legal system in Guatemala, and collaborate with other lawyers to assist in the preparation of court hearings. So far in his time at LWB/ASF Brendan has been doing detailed research, as well as blogging (which you can read here!) and translating documents between Spanish, English and French. Brendan was also fortunate enough to attend the historic trial of former General Rios Montt, who was convicted of genocide for his role in the actions carried out during the civil war. Montt’s conviction is a major victory for human rights in Guatemala.
Brendan outside the Historic Archives of the National Police
(Photo courtesy of Brendan Brock)
The work of LWB/ASF in Guatemala provides a perfect outlet for CLA’s efforts towards promoting the rule of law and human rights work. In Guatemala, LWB/ASF works in a context of violence and impunity, combined with a shortage of lawyers trained in human rights matters. Though Guatemala’s civil war officially ended in 1996, Guatemala nevertheless continues to see one of the highest rates of violence in the world among countries not at war. Indeed, much of the violence has been directed at human rights defenders and has particularly impacted the access to justice of vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, women and the poor.
Within this context, LWB/ASF works to support the development of lawyers specialized in human rights with the goal of providing effective representation to victims and civil society organizations before national and international tribunals. They aim to help develop legal precedents by bringing legally significant cases of human rights violations forward to contribute to ending impunity in Guatemala.
This is a wonderful opportunity for Brendan and CLA to support the incredibly important work of LWB/ASF and the Guatemala Human Rights Law Office.
Stay tuned for more stories from the field!