CEJIL Announces Selection of the 2022 Norma Vorpahl Human Rights Fellow

CEJIL is proud to announce the 2022 Norma Vorpahl Human Rights Fellow, Ezequiel Scafati.

Ezequiel graduated as an attorney in 2016 from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in La Plata, Argentina, and is currently studying for a Master’s in International Relations from the same university. He also received this year a diploma on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights from the University of Buenos Aires. He has worked at the Provincial Commission for Memory, a local mechanism for the prevention of torture and other degrading treatment in the province of Buenos Aires, where he has been involved in strategic litigation before the Inter-American Human Rights System. He has also been a technical assistant consultant for the Lawyers Organization for Victims of Gender Violence and has interned with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

“The opportunity granted by the Norma Vorpahl Fellowship will allow me to deepen my knowledge of the Inter-American System, contribute to the strengthening of democracy in the region, and promote access to justice for groups whose human rights have historically been violated. At the end of the CEJIL experience, I will make these tools available to the people for whom I work every day, both at the Commission for Memory and in other areas where I work,” expressed Ezequiel.

Mariangeles Misuraca and Helena de Souza Rocha, Co-Directors of the Brazil and Southern Cone Program, say this about the selection of Ezequiel: “The fellowship is an excellent opportunity for young lawyers to gain experience in strategic litigation in the Inter-American System and to better understand the context and challenges of the protection of human rights in the region of Brazil and the Southern Cone. Ezequiel has stood out in the different stages of the selection process and has demonstrated his motivation and interest to work in our organization and to contribute to the protection and defense of human rights in our region. We congratulate Ezequiel for the result, we are very happy to have him in our team, we welcome him, and we wish him a wonderful experience.”

CEJIL received 172 total applications for this highly-competitive opportunity and was impressed with both the diversity of applicants and the rigorous education and experience of the top candidates. CEJIL is extraordinarily excited to welcome Ezequiel to our organization, and we hope that the fellowship strengthens both Ezequiel’s and CEJIL’s work in the defense of human rights in the Americas.

About the Norma Vorpahl Human Rights Fellowship

The Norma Vorpahl Human Rights Fellowship is a one-year paid fellowship that provides an in-depth, enriching learning experience for a recent law school graduate interested in the field of human rights law.

The Fellow will be mentored by some of the most distinguished practitioners of international human rights law; they will be based in our Argentina office and work alongside the legal teams in our three other offices in Brazil, Costa Rica, and the U.S. The Fellow will learn about every step of the process for cases before the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) and provide concrete, meaningful contributions to CEJIL casework. They will have the opportunity to interact with multiple key actors and officials, including with the victims and survivors we represent, with national and local NGO counterparts, and with IAHRS commissioners and judges. The Fellow will also coordinate closely with the advocacy and communications teams to craft strategic campaigns that promote human rights across the Latin American hemisphere.

By the end of the fellowship, the Fellow will have an in-depth understanding of the work of an NGO dedicated to defending human rights in the Americas, and they will be capable of conducting the full range of legal and advocacy tasks necessary to engage in international human rights law before the IAHRS.

To learn more about Norma Vorpahl and the story behind the fellowship, read the blog by granddaughter Angela Vorpahl