Ioana Bala- Third Year
Redress (London, UK)
This past summer, I spent 12 weeks as an intern at REDRESS, a small human rights advocacy
organization located in London, England. REDRESS is staffed by a small team of dedicated lawyers, and
its mandate is to promote remedies for torture and the rights of torture victims under domestic and
international laws. I learned about this organization through another law student with whom I worked in
one of the human rights working groups at school. With her assistance, I was able to liaise with them, and
ultimately arrange an internship, becoming REDRESS' second U of T Law summer intern!
REDRESS actively engages in all facets of human rights advocacy. First of all, REDRESS' lawyers,
although not representing clients directly, work on providing support and documentation for cases that are
crucial to enforcing the prohibition of torture and promoting remedies for victims. Most recently,
REDRESS was involved in a series of
cases in the United Kingdom that
challenged the norm of state immunity
from liability in cases involving torture.
Working with other advocacy
organizations, REDRESS strives to ensure
that as these cases unfold, the perspective
of victims and their entitlement to an
adequate legal remedy comes to the fore.
Second, REDRESS also engages in
advocacy at the international level,
particularly at the International Criminal
Court, where REDRESS staff have been successful in spearheading a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring
that victims' rights are included in the ICC's mandate as it develops. Third, REDRESS also pursues
extensive capacity-building and awareness-raising through its detailed research and publications whose
topics range from country-specific reports on, for example, Zimbabwe, Georgia and the Sudan, to topicspecific reports on the process of bringing a complaint on behalf of torture survivors, implementing
effective legislation on the prohibition of torture, and implementing the appropriate police standards in
order to prevent and remedy torture. These publications are very practically-oriented, and hence are
invaluable not only as a source of information on international legal standards for similarly-minded NGOs,
but can also have an impact on policy-makers and state agents that are called upon to implement these
standards. In response to these publications, which are disseminated to advocacy organizations and
government offices world-wide, REDRESS staff have been invited to hold training and information
sessions for both NGO workers, as well as police personnel and legislators.
My own work at REDRESS was focused mainly on this third part of REDRESS' work. I did a lot
of research and writing in support of several publications, working mainly on two projects: documenting
the extent of state obligations stemming from the prohibition of torture under international law and doing
preliminary research for a project focused on the human rights obligations of non-state actors. Although
the legal research training infrastructure at a small human rights organization is probably considerably less
developed than it would be at a law firm or government office, as there are fewer resources and much less
time available for staff to invest in training, I was ultimately able to learn a lot. This was due in no small
part to the detailed feedback and discussion that my supervisor gave to my work. These discussions were
invaluable in helping me to better understand not only the theoretical dimensions of my research, but also
to learn to think in a much more practical way than I had gotten accustomed to in class. Perhaps most
valuably, I learned to assess international human rights standards from the perspective of their practical
effectiveness for victims. I learned to consider not only the norms that they set out, but the way in which
cases and other types of initiatives can be brought on behalf of victims, either domestically or
internationally, the way in which these play out, and most importantly, their practical outcome in terms of
bettering victims' lives.
From this perspective, I came to understand international human rights law as a much more
complex and multi-dimensional field, whose outcomes are often unpredictable, incomplete, and, many
times, frustrating. Indeed, some of REDRESS' lawyers expressed concern that in many cases where they
had contributed, or even personally represented clients and won judgments for them, they were ultimately
unable to secure the material enforcement of these judgments.
Yet, for this reason, I was also extremely inspired by their level of motivation and dedication.
Indeed, interning at REDRESS showed me what a tremendous intellectual and practical challenge human
rights advocacy can be. For this reason, I was thoroughly impressed with the kind of work that the lawyers
in the office did on a daily basis. I learned that human rights work requires a lot of personal initiative and
creativity, and takes unwavering dedication in the face of often discouraging outcomes. Furthermore, while
the process may not be perfect, I was also particularly impressed that the staff seemed to have an
immediate relationship with those seeking their help, as well as with other human rights advocates. They
seemed to be always open to new claims and new initiatives, always available for discussion and ready to
offer their services, where it would be helpful and appropriate.
Finally, I also enjoyed the multi-faceted nature of the work. In addition to research in the office, I
also got to attend a conference on the enforcement of human rights judgments (another initiative reflecting
REDRESS' primary concern with practical outcomes) organized by REDRESS in association with a big
London law firm. The conference hosted a diverse group of practitioners from both international and
domestic bodies, who discussed the obstacles and possibilities of enforcing international human rights
judgments in domestic courts. Another interesting part of the conference was the discussion of the ways in
which private law firms can collaborate in human rights cases, particularly in assisting to secure
compensation for human rights victims. A second very interesting event that REDRESS organized in the
summer was an art exhibition featuring the photographs and stories of victims of torture. The exhibit was
successful as an awareness-raising exercise, helping to highlight the importance of the work done by
organizations like REDRESS to those without a specific knowledge of international human rights law.
The exhibit was challenging, as many of its participants found it difficult to share their stories (indeed,
some did not speak directly to their experiences).
But overall, the interaction and effect on the
audience seemed to be positive and fruitful, despite
the deeply troubling nature of the subject matter.
Finally, I also got to participate in various other
events – such as observing a press conference on the
issue of torture victims in Iraq, attending various
talks by human rights advocates, as well as observing
a ground-breaking criminal trial that resulted in a
conviction under the UK's universal jurisdiction
torture laws.
Overall, the experience was very trying and challenging, but also fruitful and rewarding. I learned a
lot, both about the field of human rights, methods of advocacy and the representation of victims, as well as
the rigorous professional demands of this field. I am definitely interested in continuing to pursue this kind
of work in the future.