Aiden McKee - ISHR

Aiden is very excited to intern with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in Geneva in 2018. Having commenced his studies at Monash University in 2012, he is currently in his final year of a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in history) and Bachelor of Laws double degree, along with a Diploma of Languages in Chinese Mandarin. 

It was Aiden’s fascination with the concept of universal, inalienable human rights that initially attracted him to the study of law and history. His studies have allowed him to trace the gradual development of human rights, from as early as the Cyrus Cylinder or Magna Carta, to as relatively recently as the United States Declaration of Independence, the Universal Declaration of Human rights and the core United Nations treaties. His appreciation of the significance of these developments has motivated him throughout his study of international law, international refugee law, international human rights law and the international law of armed conflict.  

Aiden is especially passionate about the right to education. He has had the privilege of enjoying a number of experiences that have reinforced his belief in the importance of this right. In 2012 he spent time volunteering and teaching English and numeracy at the impoverished Krasang Roleung Primary School in Siem Reap, Cambodia, along with assisting in construction and food donation and distribution. He has also served as a tutor to underprivileged students of aboriginal heritage in the government-run ‘Wanik’ tutorial program.

More recently, Aiden has had opportunity to pursue his passion for education in a legal context. As a student intern at the Springvale Monash Legal Service in early 2017, Aiden advised and assisted clients from various ethnic backgrounds who were often unaware of their legal rights and responsibilities. He also interned with the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law in 2016, where, in the context of calls for a Royal Commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory, he assisted in researching and comparing the law on the use of force in detention in various Australian jurisdictions. He also had opportunity to catalogue and review quite a number of the Nauru Files, which reveal potential human rights breaches in Australia’s offshore asylum-seeker detention centers.

Aiden is looking forward to engaging with the ISHR’s important work in reviewing and strengthening international human rights protections. He is keen to learn practical skills in supporting, enabling and educating human rights defenders around the world, and to develop a deeper understanding of international human rights mechanisms and procedures.