Post by: Kim Kham
The second
half of this summer I had the opportunity to intern at an organization called
Project Expedite Justice (PEJ). This organization was founded, and is currently
directed, by Cynthia Tai, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal
Court (ICC). PEJ was founded to hold perpetrators of serious human rights
abuses and other atrocities accountable for their crimes. PEJ provides
training, mentoring, and independent legal consulting in conflict and
post-conflict situations. These situations include situations in which
individuals are persecuted based on their gender, race, political affiliation,
or religious beliefs. PEJ also represents victims of these atrocities in court
or in alternative judicial mechanisms.
Without
trying to sound cliché, this experience was truly an experience of a lifetime. Being
Burmese and growing up, I heard all about international crimes such as crimes
against humanity (CAH), war crimes, and genocide but I never had much exposure
to the legal side of these atrocities. However, during this internship, I was
able to gain a deeper understanding of the world of international criminal law.
The first
project that I worked on involved analyzing and managing evidence from the
conflict zones in which PEJ has been involved in helping. A majority of the
evidence I reviewed and managed came from Dr. Tom Catena, a graduate of Brown
University’s medical school. Dr. Catena is a missionary who has dedicated his
medical profession, thus far, to the people in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan who
have been deeply affected by the conflict. Dr. Catena has been working as a
volunteer medical doctor and is the only doctor within hundreds of miles of
Nuba. Seriously injured victims of bombings and the conflict come from all over
the area in hopes of receiving treatment for their life-threatening injuries.
While making this trek, many victims of these atrocities become deceased by the
time they reach Dr. Catena. Dr. Catena’s dedication to the people of Sudan is
extremely admirable because even in the midst of his hospital being targeted and
attacked by bombs, Dr. Catena has continued to work endlessly to help these
victims.
The second
project I worked on dealt with legal research and writing on the gender-based
violence committed by members of ISIS in Iraq. There is currently a group of
attorneys based in the States that is trying to prosecute members of ISIS who
are nationals of States Parties to the Rome Statute which governs the ICC. In
my research, I came across horrific atrocities that ISIS has committed against
individuals who do not confine themselves to gender norms. These atrocities
include execution by gunfire, throwing individuals off buildings to their
deaths with bags full of weights tied to their necks, burning individuals
alive, etc. Though Iraq and Syria are not States Parties to the Rome Statute,
this group of attorneys wants the ICC to hold these individuals accountable for
their actions by prosecuting ISIS foreign fighters who are nationals of States
Parties.
I am
extremely thankful for this opportunity to intern with such an amazing
organization and have high hopes for the future of PEJ and its endeavors.
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