Amal Aun is a second-year CIPA student who is concentrating her studies on Human Rights and Social Justice. A Fulbright Scholar, Amal is a Palestinian citizen from Israel. She came to CIPA after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Haifa, majoring in Political History of the Middle East and Linguistics. Amal has founded, and continues to remotely manage, her own advocacy and public speaking institute “Speak Up”.
As a second-year MPA student, I have had numerous opportunities to explore my understanding and knowledge of the field of Human Rights and Social Justice, which is my chosen area of concentration at CIPA. In addition to taking pertinent coursework, I’ve connected with a variety of faculty who have expertise in this area, attended lectures of interest, and pursued a variety of professional endeavors.
This fall I had the opportunity to join the Cornell Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic. I was hired as a specialized consultant on their research and advocacy report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the Occupied Syrian Golan, Israel. My role is to provide advice and information on the region’s political and social history, as well as to serve as a guide on their recent research trip in the Golan.
During the second week of September, our team traveled to Israel to conduct field research to help inform our final report. We met with local Syrians in the Occupied Golan who shared their stories and homes with us. We heard and have documented some of the most moving stories about landmine victims, land appropriation, scarce access natural resources, and limited freedom of movement. Their stories and their ability to pursue, for over 50 years, non-violent resistance efforts, are nothing less than inspirational. In our efforts to maintain professionalism and credibility, we made sure to interview both natives as well as settlers and document the differing perspectives in these issues. Before starting this crucial stage of documentation and reporting, team members went through intensive training sessions on proper interviewing processes.
It is important for us, as policy makers interested in human rights, to familiarize ourselves with both the theoretical legal basis for all of our work, as well as the practical steps that need to be taken towards securing those rights for our clients and communities. Working with lawyers this semester has expanded my practical experience and provided me with invaluable insight on those skills.
This experience has reminded me that in Cornell and CIPA, with the great variety of classes and professional opportunities, we will always find the exact academic and practical experience that meets our interests, we only need to have the determination to seek them out.