Humphrey Fellowship Program

PAULO ILICH BACCA is a Colombian lawyer specializing in the rights of indigenous peoples. Bacca has a law degree from the National University of Colombia, where he also received a master’s degree in law and expertise in constitutional law. He has advised indigenous and environmental organizations in Latin America and worked as a human rights consultant for international cooperation agencies and as a researcher for well-known university centers in Australia, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and the U.S. Bacca enjoys literature and film, and teaches at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá

SEUNG GYU BAK is an inspector for the Korean National Police University. Bak earned a degree in international relations from the University of Seoul. He also holds a degree in public administration from the Korean National Police University. In 2011 he received a Commendation of Minister of Public Administration and Security during the commemoration of the 66th Police Day. Bak believes that international law should be taken into account when drafting policies; otherwise it makes enforcing policies difficult or almost impossible. Upon completion of his fellowship, he hopes the knowledge gained during his year in the United States helps him to support South Korea in better serving its citizens by considering international law in the policy process and enforcement.

PIRBHU LAL (also known as Pirbhu Satyani) is currently an advocacy and research specialist for Thardeep Rural Development Program (TRDP). After completing a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Philosophy from University of Sindh, Pakistan in 2002, he worked for five years with Applied Socio-Economic Research (ASR), on human rights issues in Pakistan. He is the author of the book in Urdu titled Humain bhi Jennay Do- Pakistan Main Acchoot Logon Ki Suratehaal [Let us also Live -Plight of Hindu Dalits in Pakistan], as well as letters, articles, and case studies on the plight of Hindu Scheduled caste, religious minorities, and children in The Dawn newspaper, IDSN website, TRDP magazines, and annual reports of TRDP. Lal plans to work on advocacy, education, and research in order to create change in Pakistan for the rights of religious minorities and children, and to help eliminate caste-based discrimination.

DILIANA IVANOVA MARKOVA is currently a senior expert in the International Standards and Regulation Department with the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria. Previously, she interned at Böhler Advocaten, Amsterdam and was a policy advisor with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bulgaria. Markova has a noteworthy educational background and has an LL.M. in International and European Law from the University of Amsterdam, an LL.M. from the New Bulgarian University, a master’s degree in European political and administrative studies from the College of Europe, Brugge and a master’s degree in English and American studies from the Sofia University St. Kliment of Ohrid. Markova is passionate about human rights advocacy. She hopes to use advocacy, empowerment and human rights training to make sure Bulgaria moves in the right direction when it comes to human rights.

FABIÁN SÁNCHEZ MATUS is founder and former executive director for i(dh)eas, Strategic Human Rights Litigation, A.C. Previously he was a consultant for a variety of organizations and people. Sánchez holds a Bachelor in Law from the National Autonomous University of México, a degree in human rights from The Ibero-American University, and a graduate degree in human rights and democracy from the University of Chile. He has also taken interdisciplinary courses at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. Sánchez is interested in constructing a conversation between Mexican human rights organizations, the United States government and influential and decision-making sectors in the United States in order to fortify democratic rule of law in Mexico, an idea that revolves around the need for civil society action.

PADMA PRASAD PANDEY is a joint government attorney for the Office of the Attorney General in Nepal. In this capacity he represents the government in court cases. Before that he worked as a legal officer for two government corporations. Pandey has a rich education with a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in public administration, both from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He also holds a Masters of Law from University of Pune, India. Pandey is interested in policymaking and problem-solving in the field of law and human rights. He is passionate about restructuring legal frameworks and rebuilding institutions so that constitutionalism, rule of law and human rights succeed in his home of Nepal.

FLORIN BOGDANEL PRIBOI has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in international public law, both from the University of Bucharest. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University Titu Maiorescu and is currently a Ph.D. student in Communication Sciences at the National School of Political and Administrative Sciences. He serves as a parliamentary expert for the Romanian Parliament-Chamber of Deputies. In 2011, he held the first scientific and political conference about Roma political representation and published the book, The Increase of Roma Parliamentary Representation. In 2012, he received the Award for Cooperation with the political environment from the National Democratic Institute, Romanian Office. Priboi’s attention in law and human rights is focused on the Roma minority political rights, and he plans to use the time as a Humphrey Fellow to research solutions to the underrepresentation of Roma minorities in politics.

 MARCIO ANTONIO ROCHA is a federal judge from the Federal Court of Appeals of the 4th Region in Brazil. Rocha holds a Bachelor of Law from Faculdade de Direito de Curitiba. Rocha passionately believes that trust in a state is what helps human rights the most, and the more transparent a government is the more trust is built. Specifically, Rocha would like to better understand how the United States deals with corruption, discover how best practices are utilized in other countries, and then use that knowledge to not only be a better judge, but to help educate people and hopefully develop a better level of trust between the state and its citizens.

MELANIE WILLIAMS is a senior legal officer at the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica (FSC), where she specializes in legislative reform on pensions, insurance, collective investment schemes andinsolvency. A graduate of the University of the West Indies and the Norman Manley Law School of Jamaica, she has over 12 years of experience in corporate law, including offshore law, securities, litigation, trust law and pensions. As part ofJamaica's efforts to modernize its pensionslegislation, the FSC hasinvested inconsiderableworkonproposedamendments to the Pensions Act.As a Humphrey Fellow, she will focus on pensions reform to increase the participation in pension arrangementsby the working population in Jamaica.Williams is also interested in the enhancement of the FSC's regulatory powers to combat securities fraud.Williams isadirector of the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston, Jamaica,a charitable organization seeking to transform the lives of children and the disadvantaged in Jamaica.

GAOTONG ZHANG is a deputy consultant to the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). In this capacity, Zhang drafts and revises proposed laws and regulations, as well as CFDA rules and provisions. Zhang holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Lanzhou University and a Masters in Law from China University of Political Science and Law. As a Humphrey Fellow, Zhang hopes to focus on the legal issues of healthcare products, specifically the liability and remedy of adverse events involving these products as these laws are currently being prepared for revision in China.