April 29, 2008 - Brooklyn Law School is proud to announce the creation of the International Human Rights Fellowship Program and the selection of its first fellows, Jared Watkins '09 and Katharine Bodde '09. The program offers participating students a unique opportunity to acquire experience working on international human rights matters during their law school careers in both a work and academic setting.

"Jared and Katharine exemplify the excellence of our students" says Associate Dean Beryl Jones-Woodin, who was instrumental in creating the new fellowships. Watkins will work as a legal associate at the Documentation Center for Cambodia, an organization that promotes awareness of and accountability for crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge era. And Bodde will work with Bridges Across Borders in Southeast Asia as an international legal studies intern, helping to implement programs in community development, child protection and education, and community legal education.

The International Human Rights Fellowship provides a $5,000 stipend, plus travel expenses, to work abroad during the summer for a non-governmental or inter-governmental organization. The fellows' work will be supervised by an attorney. Additionally, the fellows will have the opportunity to pursue scholarly research during the academic year under the supervision of a faculty member who is an expert in the field of international human rights. Fellows write a research paper on an international human rights law topic which may be used to satisfy the upper class writing requirement or could become a note for a journal. During the fall the fellows will report on their summer internships at a luncheon.

The Documentation Center for Cambodia, known as DC-Cam, where Watkins will spend the summer, is a resource for the new international tribunal for Cambodia that conducts work related to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. It was established in 2006 to try senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Watkins will be responsible for reporting daily on proceedings in the Extraordinary Chambers and drafting trial reports that will be distributed through daily blogs, listservs and print newsletters. He will also prepare educational materials for translation as part of DC-Cam's outreach to Cambodian society in Phnom Penh and beyond.

A fellow in the Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law program, Watkins is also a member of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law and of the Moot Court Honor Society. He has already worked for several human rights organizations, including the International Center for Transitional Justice, ICF International, MoveOn PAC's Leave No Voter Behind Campaign, the Global Youth Action Network and the United Nations Development Programme. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and has a working knowledge of French. He graduated magna cum laude with a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am humbled by the opportunity to work with DC-Cam, promoting accountability for the atrocities committed by the Democratic Kampuchea regime, and serving the truth and memory needs of the Cambodian people as they work towards national reconciliation," says Watkins.

Bodde's fellowship will also bring her to Southeast Asia where she will work with Bridges Across Borders (BAB) as an international legal studies intern. This NGO was formed to address the root causes of hatred and violence in the world and seeks to address disparities within the communities of developing nations with the overarching goal of promoting human rights. BAB implements programs in community development, capacity-building, child protection and education, transitional justice, and community legal education initiatives. Bodde will be working with the Community Legal Education Initiatives Program team at BAB as well as local lawyers, law professors, legal educators and BAB's NGO partners in Chiang Mai, Thailand and elsewhere in the Southeast Asian region.

At Brooklyn Law School, Bodde is a member of the Human Rights Committee of the International Law Students Association and the International Committee of the Legal Association for Women. She also served as the chair for the Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest's Food Drive. Her work experience reflects her dedication to underserved communities. She was a New York City Teaching Fellow in the Bronx for three years, and she interned with Legal Services for New York in the Bronx Division during law school. She graduated with a BA/BS in economics and communications from Boston College.

Bodde looks forward to her internship at BAB, which she says will provide "an invaluable opportunity to gain practical experience in a different legal culture and community." The BAB program "aims to change the lives of marginalized community members through legal work," she adds. "This goal is consistent with the reasons I attended law school - to provide just and effective legal assistance to those underserved by their legal systems."

Several members of Brooklyn Law School's esteemed international law faculty will be working closely with students during their fellowships, including Professor Stacy Caplow, who is the director of BLS's clinical programs and Professor Maryellen Fullerton, who has worked closely with the student-run International Law Society to help promote a strong community for students interested in international law. In addition, Professors Nathaniel Berman and Samuel Murumba will provide guidance to the students.

Read more about the International Human Rights Fellowship.