Human Rights Brief
A Legal Resource for the International Human Rights CommunityWinter 1995
ALUMNUS PROFILE
WCL Alumna Works on International Standards for the Internally Displaced
by Ayesha Qayyum
Since May 1994, Cecile Meijer, LL.M. ’93, has worked with the International Human Rights Law Group and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) to develop legal principles for the protection of internally displaced persons. The project was undertaken at the request of Dr. Francis Deng, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons. (see related story page 4). Meijer is part of a three-member team, along with Janelle Diller and WCL Professor Robert Goldman, working on this project.
In order to accurately analyze the existing law, the team is utilizing a "needs approach." This involves first determining what particular problems internally displaced persons face, and then examining how the existing international legal regime treats those needs. In particular, Meijer focuses on the sufficiency of human rights law, humanitarian law, and refugee law in meeting the needs of the internally displaced.
The team was also asked to draft principles addressing the protection and assistance needs of internally displaced persons, particularly in areas where the law is currently inadequate. As a result, Meijer, Goldman, and Diller are involved in the drafting and development of new international standards, which Meijer hopes that the United Nations will eventually adopt.
Meijer, who is originally from the Netherlands, describes the time she spent as an LL.M. student at the Washington College of Law as "excellent preparation" for her current work. Although she was always interested in the problems of refugees and the movement of peoples, "I really learned about the issue of internally displaced persons once I came to WCL," she says. In addition to her WCL education, Meijer feels that her previous experience—working in civil, comparative, and private international law in the Netherlands—provided her with the skills she is currently applying to her work on the internally displaced.
The proper citation for this article in the Human Rights Brief Volume 2, Number 2, beginning at page 14 is: 2 No. 2 Hum. Rts. Brief 14 (1995).
