![\"Michelle](\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/MG-Headshot-200x300.jpeg\")
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Challenging Authoritarianism<\/span> with Bold Legal Advocacy<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n As Director of the Legal and Programs department of Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that advances civil and political rights exclusively in authoritarian regimes, Michelle Gulino (L’18) is no stranger to bold campaigns for societal change.<\/p>\n Michelle is part of a<\/span> dedicated<\/span> team that focuses its<\/span> resources<\/span> o<\/span>n closed societies where <\/span>authoritarian <\/span>governments<\/span> penalize<\/span> dissent<\/span> and the space for civil society organizations is extremely limited<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cBecause there is no judicial independence in dictatorships,\u201d Michelle explains, \u201c<\/span>dissidents, human <\/span>rights ac<\/span>tivists, and journalists are frequently targeted by the regime, arrested without charge<\/span>,<\/span> or <\/span>imprisoned without a fair trial.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Under HRF\u2019s Impact Litigation Program, Michelle and her team<\/span> bring<\/span> \u201cemblematic cases of <\/span>arbitrarily imprisoned dissidents to sem<\/span>i<\/span>–<\/span>judicial international bodies, such as the UN Working <\/span>Group on Arbitrary Detention, to exert pressure on authoritarian regimes to release these <\/span>individuals.\u201d Michelle and her team also make regular submissions to the UN Human Rights <\/span>Council under its Per<\/span>iodic Review of the human rights records of all UN Member States, as well as <\/span>to relevant UN Special Rapporteurs and other stakeholders.<\/span><\/p>\n The fact that Michelle\u2019s work deals with \u201csoft\u201d international law, without legally binding force, can <\/span>be frustrating.<\/span> But, she says,<\/span> \u201cthis is also why advocacy beyond our legal submissions<\/span> \u2014<\/span> and which <\/span>captures global attention<\/span>\u2014<\/span> is extremely important.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As part of its mission to provide a platform for<\/span> human rights activists to share their stories and call <\/span>on the internati<\/span>onal community<\/span> for support<\/span>, HRF<\/span> also hosts an annual human rights conference <\/span>called the Oslo Freedom Forum. \u201cVery often, the individuals we meet through this incredible <\/span>network are people we later represent via impact litigation,\u201d says Michelle.<\/span><\/p>\n Risks and<\/span> Rewards<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Michelle\u2019s job comes with rewarding and difficult moments<\/span> \u2014<\/span> \u201csometimes in equal measure,\u201d she <\/span>says. \u201cThe most challenging part is coping with a feeling that you will never be able to do the <\/span>maximum amount of good for the individuals living under authoritar<\/span>ianism<\/span> \u2014<\/span> a number which is <\/span>over half the global population.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Repression of dissidents is pervasive; and the human rights activists<\/span> with whom<\/span> Michelle has worked <\/span>face arbitrary arrests, detention, kidnappings, torture, extrajudicial killings, and other me<\/span>ans of <\/span>repression. One of the people Michelle\u2019s team represented died while arbitrarily detained; others <\/span>manage to survive detention but are later targeted again. Additionally, exposure to graphic content <\/span>relating to the individuals whose rights Michelle w<\/span>orks to promote and protect means that secondary <\/span>trauma is a real risk for many people working in this field.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe work to provide services that allow activists and others to build a toolkit to effectively <\/span>contribute to their coping mechanisms,\u201d says Mich<\/span>elle. \u201cAnd when all is said and done, the <\/span>community I\u2019ve found in this field is unlike any other, and there is little I can think of that brings <\/span><\/span>more satisfaction and personal joy than knowing that I\u2019ve made even one individual\u2019s life that much better<\/span> \u2014<\/span> th<\/span>at through my work, I\u2019ve contributed to someone\u2019s capacity for resilience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Advice for<\/span> S<\/span>tudents<\/span> T<\/span>aking the<\/span> R<\/span>oad<\/span> L<\/span>ess<\/span> T<\/span>raveled<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n When researching and applying to law schools,<\/span> Michelle<\/span> made sure to select schools that had strong <\/span>international programs.<\/span> And during her time at the Law Center, Michelle honed her reasoning, <\/span>writing, and advocacy skills in the International Women\u2019s Human Rights Clinic.<\/span><\/p>\n Still,<\/span> Michelle admits that being a public interest<\/span>–<\/span>minded law student can<\/span> be<\/span> isolating, particularly if <\/span>most of<\/span> one\u2019s<\/span> law school peers are focused more on the traditional firm route.<\/span> \u201cYou very much have <\/span>to be an advocate for yourself and remain firm in your convictions and chosen career path,\u201d says <\/span>Michelle. \u201cIt is stressful not having the same paycheck to r<\/span>ely on, secondary trauma takes its toll, and <\/span>it is so challenging to feel weighed down by the burden of being tasked with helping others in such a <\/span>monumental way.\u201d<\/span> But the rewards of a human rights, public interest career can be tremendous; and <\/span>Michelle fi<\/span>nds joy in her work every day.<\/span><\/p>\n Her advice for students looking to embark on this path is straightforward: \u201cBe a go<\/span>–<\/span>getter.\u201d If <\/span>human rights work is your passion,<\/span> she says,<\/span> \u201cdemand excellence of yourself and those whose job it <\/span>is to provide you with support. And demand the same attention for your career path as those on <\/span>other paths receive in law school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Michelle Gulino Challenging Authoritarianism with Bold Legal Advocacy As Director of the Legal and Programs department of Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that advances civil and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":0,"parent":1615,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-4272","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4272"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5651,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4272\/revisions\/5651"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}