Global Intern Nicola Silbert

Nicola Silbert

International Service for Human Rights

Profile

Nicola is thrilled to intern with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in Geneva. Having undertaken a structured gap year in Israel and the Palestinian Territories following her completion of the International Baccalaureate, Nicola began her Law/Science degree in 2012 with the aim of working in social justice and activism.

Nicola has recently returned from a semester in Vienna, where she undertook research and advocacy for gender issues at the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) at the United Nations in Vienna. She was involved in organising an event for the 25th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and contributed to the research publication distributed at the event, which focussed on women fleeing conflict.

Having grown up in a youth movement with a focus on social activism, Nicola developed an interest for human rights at a young age. During her time at Monash University, Nicola has, amongst other activities, participated in the Monash Law Students’ Society Just Leadership Program; contributed to the environmental group 350.org; and was coordinator of the Monash Student Association (MSA) Environment and Social Justice Collective’s Fossil Free Monash campaign.

Nicola gained experience in supporting defenders of human rights during her internship at the Environmental Defenders Office in the Northern Territory (EDONT), where she worked to provide advice to communities engaged in land protection. As a research assistant contributing to the joint Australian National University and University of Melbourne’s ‘Trailblazing Women and the Law’ project, Nicola researched the relationship between women lawyers and their activism.

Nicola currently volunteers at the Association of Employees with a Disability (AED) Legal Centre and works as a paralegal at the law firm TurksLegal.

Nicola is looking forward to further developing the practical skills necessary to support and advocate for human rights defenders and to contribute to ISHR’s meaningful work. She is particularly interested in understanding the gap between the lived experience of activists and human rights defenders and the United Nations mechanisms aimed at supporting them.