Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program

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2010-2011 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows

 

 

2010-2011 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows
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Kathya Cibelle Abreu de Sousa
Brazil

Ms. Abreu de Sousa is a Public Defender at the Penitentiary of Marilia. She holds a Bachelor of Law degree and specialization in Criminal and Civil Law and Criminal and Civil Procedure, and a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology. In her current position, she provides legal aid to the inmate population at the penitentiary – writing petitions and appeals to the local and supreme courts in order to enable prisoners to exercise their right to challenge their detention. Due to her work with the inmate population, she wants to focus on both public agencies and NGOs, and she is interested in issues of crime, prison systems, rights of incarcerated populations, and international human rights development and protection. She also wishes to explore issues of women’s and children’s rights.
Email: abre0029@umn.edu

 

Marina Aristova
Russia

Ms. Aristova has been working as an Attorney at Law in the Chamber of Attorneys of the Samara Region in Russia. Some of Ms. Aristova’s duties include protecting human rights and legal interests by providing legal consultations, drawing up legal documents, representing and defending people’s rights in all stages of legal proceedings. She renders legal assistance to different organizations, representing them at the arbitration tribunal. During her Humphrey Fellowship year, Ms. Aristova would like to gain knowledge in the field of international trade law and international business transactions. She is interested in investigating developing countries’ integration process into world trade, the role of international trade organizations in the integration process and settling international disputes in the field of world trading activity.
Email: arist005@umn.edu

 

Vipin Bhatt
India

Mr. Bhatt was a consultant for the Child Protection Team, UNICEF – India Country Office, in the Indian government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development. Previously he worked as a program staffer and attorney in children’s rights organizations. He brought child protection issues to public attention, worked in the juvenile justice system, and combatted child trafficking and child labor. He earned a B.A. degree with honors in Psychology and an M.A. degree in social work from Jamia Millia Islamia University, and a Bachelor in Law from the University of Delhi. He plans to study human trafficking with a focus on the trafficking of children and organized crime. He also hopes to increase his expertise and practical skills concerning child trafficking and to study the application of international law for the protection of victims of child trafficking.
Email: bhatt114@umn.edu

 

Agnieszka Dabrowiecka
Poland

Ms. Dabrowiecka is the Director of the Human Rights Unit of the Polish Justice Department, which consists of five divisions that deal with human rights issues, including: cooperating with international monitoring mechanisms, e.g., the European Court of Human Rights, the UPR, UN treaty bodies; drafting state reports to the UN; providing support for crime victims; and, promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution. Ms. Dabrowiecka holds a degree in Law from the University of Gdansk and a certificate in Human Rights Law and Practice from the University of Birmingham. During her fellowship year, Ms. Dabrowiecka would like to gain knowledge of current international human rights standards, human rights advocacy and gender issues. She is also interested in the application of human rights treaties by US courts and in the U.S. experience with international monitoring bodies.
Email: dabro011@umn.edu

 

Almaz Salmoorbekovich Kasymbekov
Kyrgyzstan

Mr. Kasymbekov works in the agribusiness sector as a deputy CEO for the Kyrgyz Agricultural and Food Corporation. He coordinates design and implementation of development strategy, support for foreign economic activity, investment, business projects, and legislative developments in food processing. He has introduced bills concerning development of the agro-industrial complex of Kyrgyzstan, geographical expansion of partnerships, and imple-mentation of large business projects. He holds a degree in Law with honors from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, and is a PhD candidate in Law. Previously he worked in criminal justice for the Ministry of Justice and for NGOs. As a Humphrey Fellow he intends to study marketing management and strategies, business communication, and international management. He hopes to identify marketing-based international business opportunities and implement international business projects and to strengthen his leadership and managerial skills.
Email: kasym004@umn.edu

 

Zhella Manrique
Philippines

Ms. Manrique is a prosecutor with the Department of Justice in the Philippines. She prosecutes criminal cases in family court involving minor victims of sexual abuse and women victims of domestic violence. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from San Beda College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English studies from the University of the Philippines. As a Humphrey Fellow, she would like to study best practices for combating human trafficking with particular attention to the areas of law enforcement and prosecution. She hopes to affiliate with government agencies and NGOs involved in the prosecution and investigation of trafficking cases. She is also interested in increasing her knowledge of child sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Email: manr0016@umn.edu

 

Masango Matimura
Zimbabwe

Mr. Matimura is the Programs Manager at the Peace-building and Capacity Development Foundation (PACDEF) in Mutare, Zimbabwe. His responsibilities include supervising officers, writing project proposals for funding, monitoring and evaluating organizational activities, organizing and providing training to field officers, planning organization activities and programs, implementing organizational projects in the communities, and conducting performance appraisals. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Peace and International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Development. As a Humphrey Fellow, he plans to study human rights and conflict resolution, and to research how human rights abuses threaten national and international security. Mr. Matimura would like to focus much of his fellowship on building lasting relationships. He would like to develop a professional affiliation with an organization dealing with governance, human rights, development, and conflict resolution matters.
Email: matim002@umn.edu

 

Rommel Miranda
Philippines

Mr. Miranda is a Police Superintendent of the Philippine National Police. He is the Chief, PIO and Spokesperson of the National Capital Region Police Office, supervising the provision of information to the public and the media. He implements initiatives that enhance police and community cooperation. He holds two bachelor degrees in law and in electrical engineering and has undertaken various police training and professional development courses. During his fellowship year, he intends to gain professional experience that would help him formulate better institutional policies, practices, and capability on the permissive use-of-force by the police. Mr. Miranda would like to develop a monitoring and investigating system, training program and equipment build-up for police use-of-force, to prevent violations of human rights and legal standards. He seeks professional affiliations with organizations that advocate human rights and with law enforcement agencies that specialize in use-of-force norms.
Email: miran057@umn.edu

 

Pepita Jane Petralba
Philippines

Ms. Petralba is the Chief Provincial Prosecutor of Cebu with the Philippine Department of Justice, responsible for approving, filing, and prosecuting cases involving all crimes committed in the Province of Cebu as well as the management of the prosecutor’s office. She contributes to policy-making on women’s concerns as Commissioner of the Cebu Provincial Women’s Commission, and she is Vice-Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force against Trafficking. Ms. Petralba holds a Bachelor of Law from Southwestern University in Cebu City, with a Certificate of Participation in International Human Rights Law from the International Institute of Human Rights. As a Humphrey Fellow, Ms. Petralba hopes to adopt a bottom-to-top approach to the prevention of human trafficking and violence against women and children, and to develop high-level policies on the prosecution of trafficking cases and witness protection.
Email: petra067@umn.edu

 

Vineta Polatside
Latvia

Ms. Vineta Polatside is Head of Projects for the Inter-national Organization for Migration in Latvia and is the local contact point for victims of trafficking. She is responsible for the management of activities and projects related to human trafficking, asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants. Ms. Polatside holds a Bachelor of Humanitarian Sciences from the University of Latvia and a Higher National Diploma of Law from the College of Law in Riga. She is the cofounder and a board member of the NGO shelter “Safe House,” the primary organization in Latvia working with issues of trafficking. During her Humphrey Fellowship year, she would like to engage in coursework that addresses trafficking, participate in field trips and specialized seminars, and complete an internship with an international organization or NGO working on human trafficking.
Email: pola0061@umn.edu

 

Jolanta Samuolyte
Lithuania

Ms. Samuolyte, as the Legal Director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI), is primarily responsible for monitoring the human rights situation, conducting research studies and strategic litigation, preparing shadow reports and developing educational programs. As an OSI Justice Initiative Fellow, Ms. Samuolyte obtained her LL.M. in Human Rights from Central European University in Budapest. She holds a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in International and EU Law from Concordia International University of Estonia, Tallinn. As a Humphrey Fellow, Ms. Samuolyte is interested in deepening her knowledge of international human rights law with special focus on discrimination, enforcement of international standards, and the use of innovative human rights advocacy strategies. She also hopes to enhance her skills in public speaking and in use of the media for addressing human rights issues.
Email: samuo002@umn.edu

 

Laila Ziadeh
Palestinian National Authority (West Bank)

Ms. Ziadeh served as head manager of the Community Work Department at the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Ramallah. She was responsible for: managing, planning, and evaluating; developing policies; representing the department in national and international forums; and, fundraising efforts. She also worked on advocacy for and empowerment of vulnerable women, and mainstreaming. Ms. Ziadeh has a master’s degree in Gender, Development and Law from Bir Zeit University. During her fellowship year she would like to focus on human rights law and advocacy, and the mechanisms of implementation of human rights on the national and the international level, in order to be able to be one of those who will contribute to progressive changes in legislation and administrative rules, to improve the crucial situation of the disadvantages faced by people such as women, children and persons with disabilities.
Email: ziade001@umn.edu