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A Summer with AIDS-Free World
Fighting the spread of HIV through app development and international law advocacy
This past summer, I had the privilege of working for AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization dedicated to tackling the inequalities conducive to the spread of HIV. This was my second summer working for the organization, thanks to the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) and its summer fellowship program.
In my first summer with AIDS-Free World, I worked exclusively for their Code Blue Campaign, which focuses on sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by UN personnel against vulnerable populations that they are sent to assist. Sadly, UN perpetrators of sexual assault rarely face any form of accountability, much less legal accountability, for their actions. This past summer, I continued to work for the Code Blue Campaign, but also had the opportunity to assist with AIDS-Free World’s work involving Yahya Jammeh, the former dictatorial President of the Gambia.
In my work for the Code Blue Campaign, I was fortunate to be given the role of coordinator for a major project, CAVIA. CAVIA is a groundbreaking app that will make it possible to interview those most affected by UN peacekeeping and emergency assistance operations. CAVIA will allow participants to self-interview in a private location of their choosing, no matter their level of literacy, without the need for access to the internet or electricity, and without the bias, stigma, or judgment that can come from a human interviewer. As the coordinator between Code Blue and our selected developer, I learned a great deal about the process of developing an app from scratch. I was grateful to be a part of this initiative, and cannot wait to see the strides that AIDS-Free World makes using CAVIA once it is launched.
Beyond the Code Blue Campaign, I worked under AIDS-Free World’s team of brilliant and talented lawyers to begin the process of filing a complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of victims of Yahya Jammeh’s fake AIDS ‘cure.’ From 2007 to 2017, Jammeh claimed he could cure AIDS. He forced hundreds of HIV-positive Gambians to cease their antiretroviral therapy, and instead enter his false treatment program. This resulted in the deaths of at least 31 participants of the program. After losing power in 2017, Jammeh fled the Gambia, and has since been living in exile in Equatorial Guinea. Although he has not yet faced legal accountability for his numerous human rights violations, AIDS-Free World and several other organizations continue to fight for justice for his victims.
I would encourage any student who is considering doing a summer fellowship with the IHRP to pursue one. It is not only a way to get your foot in the door of human rights organizations, it is also an incredible opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge about international human rights law and advocacy work—both its positives and its drawbacks. This fellowship also offers a unique opportunity for students to search for organizations whose area of focus and expertise is particularly compelling to them, and to then learn from experts in that area. It is rare that students have the chance to reach out to experts or organizations they admire, and ask to assist and learn from them at no cost to said organization or expert.
Whether an IHRP fellowship helps you cement your passion for a particular field of law, or makes you realize that you may want to pursue a different field, it will be an invaluable experience.