The world is awash in refugees and internally displaced people. We see it everyday in the news whether it be in Syria, Somalia or Myanmar, people from all walks of life, religions and political beliefs are fleeing war, persecution and death. We hear about it, we understand that it is happening but what is being done to help these people and who is offering them assistance?
This week we talk to Sarnata Reynolds of Refugees International on her role within the organization and how they use the rule of law to effect change.
Sarnata Reynolds is the senior advisor on human rights at Refugees International. She serves as the principal liaison and focal point with United Nations agencies, the U.S. government, and focus countries on human rights issues. She has traveled to Bangladesh, Haiti, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar, and South Sudan, among other countries, to document the situation of displaced populations and advocate for the protection of their human rights.
Sarnata has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she taught a seminar on statelessness and a human rights fact-finding course on the repatriation of people with mental disabilities. Sarnata has served as a member of the National Lawyers Committee for Human Rights’ Mexico Advisory Team, as the Vice-Chair of Refugee Council USA, and as Chair of the Iraqi Refugee Working Group during the height of displacement in that country.
Sarnata has appeared before Congress many times and represented the NGO community before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on the anniversaries of the Refugee and Statelessness Conventions. Prior to joining RI, Sarnata worked as the Policy and Advocacy Director for Refugee and Migrants’ Rights at Amnesty International USA. In this position she promoted the enforcement of international human rights standards pertaining to refugees, asylum seekers, the stateless, migrants, and other uprooted people. Sarnata has also litigated asylum and deportation defense cases before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States District Courts, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review. She has published multiple articles on international human rights and U.S. immigration issues, and she is currently writing a book on “theoretical” nationality. Sarnata completed her Women’s Studies degree magna cum laude at the University of Minnesota and the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She completed her law degree at the University of Minnesota, and studied European Union law at University College Dublin.
According to the website of Refugees International:
Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
Challenge
Displacement crises left unattended threaten stability around the world. There are 51.2 million refugees and internally displaced people and 10 million stateless people living in limbo without citizenship rights. People forced from their homes by conflict are among the world’s most vulnerable and they all have individual stories of loss, heartache, and survival.Impact
Timely responses to displacement crises can increase stability in a region before the conflict spreads across borders. Due to our efforts, displaced people receive food, medicine, and education; families return home; peacekeepers are sent to protect displaced people from harm; and stateless people obtain legal status.Reputation
Refugees International was started in 1979 as a citizens’ movement to protect Indochinese refugees. Since then, we have expanded to become a leading advocacy organization that provokes action from global leaders to resolve refugee crises. We do not accept government or UN funding, allowing our advocacy to be fearless and independent. Our expert recommendations are highly valued by the very people whose decisions bring immediate relief and lifesaving solutions to refugees: senior officials of the U.S. Administration and Congress, the United Nations, and governments around the world.Field Work
Each year, Refugees International conducts approximately twelve field missions to identify displaced people’s needs for basic services such as food, water, health care, housing, access to education and protection from harm. Based on our field-based knowledge of humanitarian emergencies, we successfully challenge policy makers and aid agencies to improve the lives of displaced people around the world. Where there are needs, we witness what is lacking, we present solutions and we demand action.
Progressive Lawyer: Hi Sarnata. How did you decide that you wanted to work on refugee issues?
Sarnata Reynolds: I have always been a human rights activist. When I went to law school I worked on an asylum case in Texas and that was the hook. After graduation I practiced immigration, asylum and deportation law in San Francisco. I used to primarily do court work but now my work is primarily policy work.
PL: How do you utilize the law to further your organizational goals?
SR: We do no litigation. We do no work in an operational sense in any way. We have two lawyers on staff, myself and Alice Thomas who works on the issue of climate displacement, a growing legal and humanitarian issue. I joined Refugees International to work on the issue of statelessness. Nationality is a fundamental human right and a foundation of identity, dignity, justice, peace, and personal security. But statelessness (the lack of effective nationality) affects millions of people worldwide. Being stateless means having no legal protection or rights to participate in political processes, inadequate access to social services, poor employment prospects, little opportunity to own property or travel, and few protections against trafficking, harassment, and violence. Statelessness also has a disproportionate impact on women and children.
Stateless people are found in all regions of the world. Their situations of legal limbo result from many factors such as political change, expulsion of people from a territory, discrimination, nationality based solely on descent, and laws regulating marriage and birth registration. Statelessness has both international human rights law and national law components and that is what makes it so interesting from a legal standpoint. It is very legalistic.
Some of the things I am involved in doing are things such as:
- Country assessments to see if citizens are being excluded by the law.
- Displacement Issues.
- I spend significant time analyzing whether national laws/practices are consistent with international human rights.
- I also spend a lot of time determining what a government should do in response to internally displaced people. I study the laws currently in place and see how they should be applied to the situation as well as analyze United Nations policies and standards for consistency in the UN/INGO response.
As I indicated above we are also involved in the issue of people displaced by climate change. This is a new and developing area of the law which poses questions such as:
- What kind of protection should these displaced people receive? Should a new form of protection be developed to address their situation specifically?
- People are moving because of climate change. What sorts of preparation should be in place for them?
Alice goes on missions and does research and writing in furtherance of this issue. These displaced populations may not be eligible for protection under the refugee conventions but have similar needs yet there is no international legal regime in place for them. There are regional agreements that offer protection in some parts of the world, including Africa (Kimpala) and the Americas (Cartagena).
PL: Do you offer any internships or volunteer opportunities?
SR: Every semester we have interns. We also have a number of fellowships. We would like to have more of these but as we are a small organization with limited resources it is very difficult to implement. Further information on jobs, fellowships and internships can be found at http://www.refugeesinternational.org/who-we-are/jobs-fellowships-internships.
PL: How would a legal professional pursue a career with your organization? What advice would you give to a law student or legal professional who would be interested in refugee law?
SR: First is to get experience via volunteering. There are a lot of opportunities for law students to get involved in helping to prepare refugee cases. I also do not agree with the perception that working for a law firm somehow excludes you from doing this type of work. You can work for any law firm and do pro bono work and still make a valuable contribution and gain important experience. But if going the NGO route you do have to decide which type of an organization you want to work for, a small, scrappy organization with limited resources but opportunities to get involved in all aspects of refugee work or a larger, better funded but perhaps more bureaucratic organization but these are decisions best based on experience.
Regardless of what you do, personal contact is important as at the end of the day law is about relationships.
PL: How do you balance your work life with your private life?
SR: It can be very difficult to experience situations that are tough emotionally and then forget them. It takes a toll emotionally on you but it is important to take care of yourself, to talk to friends and to write about it. These are the coping mechanisms that have worked well for me.
It is a constant struggle though. I travel regularly and meet a lot of people and there is a constant engagement every day so you can’t just walk away from what you learn and who you meet. At the end of the day my responsibility is to be responsive to people in need and so in that respect my job never ends in the traditional sense.
PL: Outside of your organization, what issues are you particularly passionate about?
Well to be perfectly honest, my plate is full being a mom! That keeps me busy enough as it is!
PL: What do you think the role of law and lawyers should be in society?
SR: Justice is the bottom line. A lawyers job is to facilitate other people’s access to justice.
PL: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us!
I would like to give sincere thanks to Sarnata for taking the time out of her busy schedule to talk to Progressive Lawyer. For more information on Refugees International please visit their website at http://www.refugeesinternational.org/
Until next week!