Week One: Welcome to Switzerland!
Hi everyone!
My name is Kristen, and I’ll be using this blog to tell you about my summer internship with International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) in Geneva, Switzerland. This first blog post will be a little bit of an introduction to who I am, and I’ll tell you all about my first week at IBJ and in Geneva! Before I go any further, I want to take the time to thank Professor Christie Warren for connecting me with this amazing internship opportunity. I am so excited to have the opportunity to do such incredible and impactful work this summer with IBJ.
So to start, I am a rising 2L at William & Mary Law, and I am hoping to pursue a concentration in International Law at W&M. I completed my Bachelor’s in International Relations and Middle East Studies at Mount Holyoke College in May 2023, and I am thrilled to be able to expand upon my background in international law through the amazing programs that William & Mary offers. At W&M, I am the Vice-President of the William & Mary International Competition Team, and I had the honor of representing W&M at the 44th Edition of the Jean-Pictet International Law Competition in Pokhara, Nepal back in April. Fun fact – I actually have dual citizenship in Switzerland, and this internship has given me the opportunity to live in my second country for the first time!
For those who have not heard of International Bridges to Justice before, IBJ is an NGO based in Geneva that promotes the rule of law and international human rights by working to prevent torture in detention centers around the world through the provision of early, pro bono legal aid. IBJ was founded in 2001 by Karen Tse (a fellow historically women’s college alum!) and currently has 12 permanent country programs and has existing projects in 48 countries. A significant portion of IBJ’s work centers around training defenders to prevent arbitrary pre-trial detention of the accused.
During my first week at IBJ, I truly hit the ground running! On my first day, we learned that there was an opportunity for a grant from a Canadian program that would provide funding for IBJ’s program in the Democratic Republic of Congo for an entire year. The issue? The grant proposal was due in two days. I got straight to work and was able to submit a proposal for the DRC by Tuesday morning, and we should know soon if IBJ will be given the grant! This grant would allow IBJ to take on the cases of more than 100 individuals accused of crimes or arbitrarily imprisoned in DRC detention centers over the course of a year. When IBJ ran the same program in 2021, IBJ had a 40% acquittal/charges dropped rate, obtained reduced sentences for 28% of clients, and the remaining clients’ cases were still before the courts. The DRC has some of the most overcrowded prisons in the world, with an overcrowding rate of 720% and approximately 70% of the detained awaiting trial. It was wonderful to know that the work I was doing on day one at IBJ could have such a substantial impact on so many people’s lives. If you’re interested in reading about the cases of some of the people IBJ has helped in the DRC before, you can find those stories here: https://www.ibj.org/media/news-2/.
The rest of the week, I’ve been working on an exciting new project: helping to set up a new country program for IBJ in Mauritania. The primary human rights problems in Mauritania center around the continuation of slavery and the limited nature of women’s rights. Additionally, human rights defenders in Mauritania often face arbitrary arrests and threats, so this is something we’re working to navigate while establishing a new IBJ country program. For this project, I’ve been reaching out to existing human rights organizations in the region as well as members of the local legal community. Our project proposal is due at the end of June, so hopefully IBJ will be able to make a substantial impact to support the rule of law and human rights in Mauritania!
This week has definitely not been only work, however. I have loved getting to explore Geneva, and everyone I have met has been wonderful! When I first arrived at the International Foyer where I’m staying, I found out that one of the friends I made in Nepal back in April also lives here – it’s a small world! I was able to go to Nepal in April as a member of the William & Mary Law International Competition Team in order to compete in the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition. At the competition, I met 36 teams from around the world, and the Geneva Academy itself sent a team to Nepal! After meeting halfway across the world in April, we reconnected in Geneva this Thursday and went out for drinks together. Next week, the Jean-Pictet team from Pakistan will also be visiting Geneva, so hopefully the Jean-Pictet reunions will continue! I’m excited to continue connecting with others in Geneva who are devoted to international humanitarian law this summer.
Luckily for me, I am living only a five minute walk from Lake Geneva, and there is so much to do in the area. In just my first week, I’ve explored the botanic gardens and watched cygnets hatch down at the lake! I’ve also walked more than 50 combined miles on foot since getting to the city, haha. Public transportation is incredibly easy to navigate here, but I’ve enjoyed wandering all around the city after work.
This week, Geneva hosted a Street Food Festival in the Plaine de Plainpalais – a large city square near the Old Town of Geneva. On Saturday, I met Laura from William & Mary Law (who had just arrived in the country!) to get dinner at the Food Festival, and we had fantastic arepas and walked down to the Jet d'Eau. I went back to the festival Sunday to get dinner and unfortunately got stuck in a massive rainstorm. The temperatures have been great in Geneva since I arrived, but unfortunately it has rained at least a little every day this week. I am so excited to continue exploring the city next week, and I’ll keep you updated on what excitement Geneva has in store for us!
This has been a long blog post, so if you’ve made it this far, thank you! I’ve included a bunch of pictures from around Geneva, but stay tuned for more! If you’re a prospective student or interested in the international internship program and want to reach out, my email is kaadolf@wm.edu! And if you want to follow along for regular updates of my time in Geneva, feel free to follow my instagram – @kristen.adolf.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Kristen