Cameron Roberts (NYU Liberal Studies) | Refugee Law Clinic | London, United Kingdom
I will work with the Refugee Law Clinic (RLC) in London this summer. The RLC is an initiative within the School of Advanced Studies and the Refugee Law Initiative at the University of London. It is one of London’s first specialized law clinics to provide legal services to asylum seekers. With two permanent staff attorneys and more volunteer attorneys working pro-bono, the clinic assists asylum seekers in applying for fresh claims. This is a growing population in the United Kingdom as many asylum seekers find themselves with appeal rights exhausted and have no choice but to submit more evidence to build a fresh asylum claim.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the important work of the Refugee Law Clinic this summer. I am excited about the prospect of expanding my knowledge in international law as it relates to migration and gaining a more in-depth understanding of the UK system. My work at the clinic will be a continuation of the research I conducted during my independent study as part of the Gallatin Global Fellowship for Human Rights, and I am eager to apply this knowledge in a practical setting.
Moreover, as the UK continues to update its Rwanda Migration Plan, among other restrictive immigration policies, I am anxious to see how this impacts the work of migration lawyers. If international human rights law remains a powerful tool, the United Kingdom has become the best arena to test its strength. However, I remain the most excited about direct engagement with affected migrant communities, as I have always found this most rewarding of any work I have completed on this issue.