Global Intern Jessica Fitzgerald

Southern African Litigation Centre

Profile

Jessica is very excited to be participating in the Castan Centre's Global Internship Program at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Jessica’s passion for social justice began at a young age. While in high school she wrote an open letter condemning the deportation of two of her former primary school mates to the Philippines, who were orphans living in Australia with their only remaining family. She believed that returning two children under the age of 13 to a country to which they had no ties and no family support was fundamentally wrong. Her strong belief that vulnerable people should be protected from situations of danger or risk burns to this day.

Jessica has pursued her passion for human rights throughout both her Arts degree and Juris Doctor at Monash University, volunteering with the Oaktree Foundation and Amnesty International. She has recently returned from a full-year exchange program to Essex University (UK) where she studied Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from distinguished professionals, such as the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Paul Hunt. While in Europe she was fortunate to undertake a field trip to Kosovo to examine the post-war reconstruction efforts, and also undertook an International Criminal Law course in The Hague, taught by professionals at the ICTY, ICTR and the International Criminal Court. The whole exchange experience was the most intellectually stimulating experience of her life, and strengthened her resolve to dedicate her career to rights advocacy.

Jessica’s particular interests in human rights include: working at a strategic level to create stronger human rights protections through litigation and advocacy; and securing legal means of redress for victims of violations. This stems from her firm belief that the very existence of a right necessarily requires that its violation be remedied. She is especially interested in working to secure redress for victims of torture, and victims of human rights violations which occur during war, from which her passion for International Criminal Law stems.

At the SALC, Jessica is most looking forward to using her skills to contribute to the creative strategies SALC employ for choosing and conducting strategic human rights litigation, including navigating the national, regional and international rights mechanisms, and advocating for victims. She is also looking forward to using her legal knowledge and skills to contribute to the SALC’s fantastic work in the criminal justice space, in encouraging the Southern African states to prevent impunity, and undertake regional and domestic prosecutions for rights abuses. Jessica is incredibly grateful to the Castan Centre and Monash University for this incredible opportunity. She is excited to contribute to the great work of human rights defenders in Southern Africa.