Alice Edwards
Over the span of her 25-year career, Dr. Alice Edwards’ work has helped redefine the international refugee and human rights legal landscapes. She has held senior positions with the United Nations, academia, and with inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations. Alice is presently Head of the Secretariat of the Convention against Torture Initiative (@CTI2024) (2016-present), an inter-governmental project of six governments (Chile, Denmark, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco) aspiring – through quiet diplomacy and technical assistance – to reduce the risks of torture worldwide. Prior to this, she was UNHCR’s Chief of Protection Policy and Legal Advice and Senior Legal Coordinator. She is the youngest woman to have been appointedto this key global position, having previously completed UNHCR field assignments in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda and Morocco. Of note, Alice managed, inter alia, UNHCR’s international consultative processes to advance refugee rights during both the 50thand 60thanniversary commemorations of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Alice has held academic appointments at the universities of Oxford and Nottingham. She has also worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International and with an NGO in Mozambique. An Australian qualified barrister and solicitor, Alice has been involved in over 90 human rights/refugee/stateless cases as amicus, pursuing and settling international legal standards before courts in all regions. A prolific writer, with over 30 publications to her name, her book, Violence against Women under International Human Rights Law, is a go-to resource, regularly cited and its arguments used to argue cases and inform policy and legislative developments. The book has been praised as an example of “great feminist international legal scholarship”. She is currently working on a new book on best practices as well as mistakes of international human rights advocacy. A list of her publications are available at https://works.bepress.com/alice_edwards. Follow her on Twitter @DrAliceJEdwards
Alice was interviewed for Atlas by Elizabeth Griffin, Social Justice Leadership Coach and Mentor, Extraordinary Professor, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and Fellow, Human Rights Centre (South Africa) and Armed Conflict and Crisis Hub, University of Essex (UK). Follow her on Twitter @ProfLizGriffin.
Alice’s profile has been written by Denise Campbell, a writer, editor and communications professional.
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How did you get your first “big break”?
Seizing the day: In 1996, at the end of two (unpaid) internships in Geneva, I was scheduled to interview with the Geneva-based director of an NGO, for what I hoped would be my first international position in Rwanda. I had heard that this particular NGO was willing to give graduates opportunities to work in the field. But with a resurgence of violence in Rwanda, their local offices were closing immediately. As my return to Australia was imminent, I knew I would be “out of sight, out of mind”. It had taken me five years to save to travel to Europe via Africa during my undergraduate studies, so I knew I wouldn’t be back in Europe any time soon! I had to jump at the chance. So I suggested that we keep the interview slot. When the interview concluded, the director - in an unorthodox move which unfortunately hasn’t happened to me since - presented me with a list of roles from which to indicate my interest! Three weeks later, I was on my way to Beira, Mozambique as the NGO’sCommunications Officer and Projects Assistant on their Maternal Child Health & Development program. I was paid USD 700 per month, provided with shared accommodation in an old cooperative building which had no running water and sporadic electricity, and I caught the bus each day with my local colleagues to the office, which is where I improved my Portuguese. After years of war, droughts, floods and deprivation, Mozambique was ranked the poorest country in the world in 1997. As a first experience of a post-conflict situation, overlaid with cyclical environmental disasters, Mozambique taught me a lot about resilience and the importance of community-driven responses and local people being in charge of their own destiny.
From small beginnings: When I started out, I’d never even heard of internships. I was from Hobart, Tasmania – a small, peaceful town at the end of the earth! I’d studied international law at university during the dramatic years of the Bosnian conflict, where each week we had to give an update on the latest efforts to negotiate peace. This class resonated with me. In an interesting turnaround, two years after Mozambique and by then a qualified Australian lawyer, I was offered a UN position in Bosnia and subsequently Rwanda. I believe the universe has a peculiar way of guiding you. You just never know where the seeds for your next step are planted!
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments?
For me, my greatest accomplishments are assessed by their impact on the legal landscape and their transformative power to improve lives.
First, for two decades I have been engaging in legal and empirical research and practical work intoviolence against women, starting with the work I undertook with victims of sexual violence during the wars in Bosniaand Kosovo, culminating in the adoption of more appropriate approaches by the UN and other actors, and the rejection of the inevitability of rape in conflict. A major study I authored for UNHCR and OHCHR called for special considerations for victims of sexual violence in the return and repatriation exercises, which went against the existing UN dogma that everyonemust return to their pre-conflict municipalities, regardless of the trauma. I even criticised the lack of psychological counselling and treatment (and funding) available to male victims and returning soldiers, keenly aware of the increasingly documented rise in domestic violence in post-conflict societies. This latter view has taken much longer to become established as a standard post-conflict response.
Through case work, I formulated the argument that rape is a form of torture and therefore victims are rightly ‘refugees’ who are owed protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention; this position is now widely accepted doctrine globally. I used a similar legal analysis – initially rejected by my superiors – to argue that persons who are victims of trafficking can qualify as 1951 Convention refugees. In defense of my position, I published an article arguing the case. This approach, groundbreaking at the time, is now endorsed by UNHCR and accepted by many national jurisdictions. My writings have continued to inform international standard-setting exercises.
A close second would be my research and policy recommendations on a broad range of refugee issues, in particular empirical investigations into alternatives to immigration detentionwhich are now cited and applied by all major international organizations and NGOs and increasingly by governments and courts. I personally initiated and steered UNHCR’s Global Strategy to end the detention of asylum-seekers, raised over €1.4 million to support alternative-to-detention projects, and wrote UNHCR’s Guidelines on Detention and Alternatives to Detention. The strategy has been lauded as a “blueprint for human rights advocacy” and has led to concrete changes in a number of countries.
This brings me to my current position which allows me to take a constructive evidence-based approach to the prevention and response to torture and ill-treatment and to strengthening national criminal justice systems. During my tenure at CTI, the organisation has hit a number of important milestones, including 15 new states ratifications of the UN Convention against Torture. Many other states have begun reforming national policies, laws and practices to combat one of the greatest continuing threats to fair justice. Being able to engage with governments in a peer-to-peer format, speak with them confidentially and by doing so, understand their very real challenges and tailor our interventions accordingly, has brought about really positive results. Over 140 governments and hundreds of senior officials, decision-makers and other stakeholders have participated in CTI’s annual suite of activities which I am immensely proud of.
In light of all these developments, what do you consider to be the biggest changes in international human rights law over the past half-century, and what are some of the remaining challenges?
My international career started in Bosnia and Rwanda in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This bleak period of global history was for me and so many international lawyers of my generation, a period that precipitated many breakthroughs enabling more inclusive international law. Collectively, tremendous progress has been made in terms of standard-setting in almost all areas of international law. We can be especially proud of that, yet the challenge remains to translate those standards into everyday realities.
Despite all the advances, justice is too slow and too exclusive. Lessons from history are regularly forgotten. Organisations and experts expend a lot of unnecessary time and energy reinventing solutions, and often fail to research past good practices. Women continue to have to fight for their rightful seat at the crisis negotiation table, even though we have decades of evidence that their presence leads to a more just and sustainable peace. Governments are not convinced by existing advocacy tactics, and need to be approached and incentivised in different and multiple ways. I think this is where we still have a lot of work to do.
Are your accomplishments your best career highlights?
While it is extremely gratifying to see your handprints on international legal texts, guidelines and judgments, the greater rewards come when someone has directly benefited from your work and initiatives. Receiving postcards from many survivors of sexual violence, torture, rape and other heinous crimes I helped resettle to other countries to escape the Bosnian and Kosovar wars are definitely counted as among my most memorable career highlights. When the mission becomes personal, the motivation and passion are elevated. I also cherish the opportunity and privilege I’ve had of living in, or visiting so many countries, experiencing and adjusting to unfamiliar cultures, meeting new people and cultivating friendships.
Why was pursuing a Ph.D important? Was it important to publish your work?
The pursuit of a Ph.D is not for everyone. After over eight years in the field, I realised I had something important to say and the doctorate gave me a platform to say it. I’d noticed gaps in the feminist literature and UN policy in the way violence against women was handled in conflict and post-conflict situations, which became the basis for my Ph.D research. As a woman, the credentials and accepted expertise conferred by a Ph.D gives you an added patina of validation cache. The Doctor title opens many doors and the usual hurdles of being an authoritative voice as a woman can dissipate.
On the value of publishing, I believe that if you have something to say that you hope will influence policy or law and have resonance, it’s best to widen your audience. Get it out there. Publish it! Under the title, Violence against Women under International Human Rights Law, my ideas were published. The book was an instant top seller for Cambridge University Press and it remains so today. I’d also add, put your ideas out there in different formats. Short papers, for example, which distil your main points, are perfect for busy practitioners.
You have worked in different branches of the international human rights field – from international organisations, non-governmental organisations, the academy and now with governments – what have been the advantages in your opinion of these experiences?
I have never pursued the status of one type of work or organisation over another, nor the financial rewards. My rule of thumb is that I try to match my skillset with where I believe I could make the greatest contribution. The job has to be interesting, not just a step up! One of the benefits of these varied experiences is that they have definitely provided me with insights into the other’s point of view. An understanding of the different incentives, challenges and strategies of different actors and entities, has certainly helped me negotiate more effectively.
What are some of the challenges that you faced in your career?
Challenges have been different at different stages. Disappointingly, I’ve observed a few new ones as I’ve advanced in my career.
Pigeon-holing: One of the frustrations I have is that work on women’s rights has at times tended to overshadow myotherexpertise and contributions. It has limited how my expertise is perceived by some in our field.
Opportunity: The day we no longer hear the phrase “the first woman…” to do something, will be a joy to behold! A perception of scarcity leads to unnecessary competition, even though competition can have positive benefits that drives us all to strive higher. For example, when a new 10-member committee advertises vacancies, I believe that men count all positions as up for grabs and they’d support each other to fill them, after all wouldn’t it be great to have a friend or ally on the committee? Whereas women still perceive that there is only one position available for them and, unfortunately, the selectors may also take this view. I’d love to see this change, and I do believe it is changing where women view all ten positions are available. We should ask ourselves when was the last time we nominated a women to a board membership, or for an award or special accolade? I think we need to overcome our reservations in both putting ourselves forward for such positions and asking our colleagues to nominate us.
Of the many women who preceded you, could you name two who have especially assisted or inspired you?
It goes without saying that my career follows in the footsteps of so many brilliant women who have preceded me, so it’s difficult.
Professor Hilary Charlesworth, my Ph.D supervisor, recognised a new voice in my thesis ideas, and encouraged me to pursue them. She put my thesis proposal forward for an Australian post-graduate award, Australia’s most prestigious Ph.D scholarship, which allowed me to pursue this research. Charlesworth’s groundbreaking writing with Christine Chinkin and Shelley Wright awakened a new era in international law.
Founder of refugee studies as an academic discipline and the world’s most prolific refugee advocate, Professor Barbara Harrell-Bond (1932-2018). She exhibited compassion for refugees and was a tough critic of humanitarian institutions charged with promoting and protecting their rights. As one of my mentors, she was not always thrilled with my career choices (in particular my decision to leave my academic position at Oxford to return to UNHCR). Nonetheless, Barbara’s work ethic and devotion to finding the best in the human spirit, continues to inspire me today. Her book, Imposing Aid, is a must-read.
Do you have any advice for people, particularly women, hoping to work in an international legal career in the future?
Be ready to go, don’t hesitate: These days, there are many diverse opportunities and ways to craft and flourish in a career. Be ready to grab them when they arise.
Look backwards as well as forwards: Take an historical perspective, though this can be difficult in the beginning of a career. You may expect change to happen quickly and will be anxious to act immediately, but much of the empirical evidence tells us that changes happen inexorably, over time. This is not an excuse for not pursuing lofty goals, but rather humility in acknowledging all those who preceded current efforts. Always have a strategy so you can see incremental improvements. It helps to sustain the optimism!
Apply common sense: I find that common sense is not in fact very common. Yet it is absolutely vital and often the most important skill, even for complex problems. Don’t try to over complicate things, get down to the basics and start problem-solving from there.
Know your material: Be prepared for every eventuality and be ready to adjust your strategy as the situation evolves. Make sure you’ve done your homework and know what has been done or advocated before, and why it did or did not succeed.
Hard work is a prerequisite: Human rights work is rarely a 9-5 routine. Working on the frontlines of international law regularly means responding to a major unfolding crisis. It means deadlines are often imposed by components out of your control. I believe this profession is a vocation, rather than a job. You need passion; you have to know why you are doing it. You cannot manufacture motivation. Not everyone is suited to this career and that’s OK too.
Self-Care: Careers in the international legal field require making peace with requisite compromises. With burn out and disillusionment an occupational hazard, it’s essential to strike your own balance. Don’t underestimate the importance of refueling your mental tank and energy reserves which support your ability to continuously put forth your best effort. For me, this is still a work in progress!
Liz Griffin is a Social Justice Leadership Coach and Mentor who supports human rights activists and organisations to develop impactful advocacy, navigate change and uncertainty and keep well. She has over 25 years of experience working with the UN, NGOs and at universities, rising to the level of professor of international human rights law. Liz is also Extraordinary Professor, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (South Africa) and Fellow, Human Rights Centre and Armed Conflict and Crisis Hub, University of Essex (UK). She is also an International Coaching Federation accredited Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Senior Yoga Alliance Professional and Partner, Human Rights Resilience Project. Follow her on Twitter @ProfLizGriffin