María Alejandra Pájaro Rozo

As a legal intern at Open Society Foundations, I work with the Strategic Litigation team to advance human rights and the rule of law through litigation and advocacy. I support legal research projects, draft legal and other documents, and monitor and analyze relevant cases and developments in international and regional human rights systems. 

I have a Master of Laws in Public Law from UCL, where I specialized in international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international and European refugee law, judicial review, and constitutional law. I also completed the United Nations Human Rights Council Training Programme and the Essex Human Rights Summer School, enhancing my knowledge and skills in human rights protection and promotion. I have previous experience as a judicial assistant at the Constitutional Court of Colombia, where I advised on high-profile human rights and constitutional law cases involving the rights of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of people, such as indigenous communities, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities, children, women, among others. 

I am passionate about humanitarian work and committed to using the law as a tool for social change. I am skilled at analyzing complex legal issues, applying legal reasoning, developing solid solutions, and providing legal advice. I am proactive, collaborative, and excited to partner with like-minded individuals.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Legal Intern for Justice Initiative (Strategic Litigation) | Open Society Foundations London, United Kingdom JUN 2023 – PRESENT: 

• Report Drafting: Prepare legal and non-legal reports on key programmatic and legal issues, including case summaries, spanning various human rights areas, such as migrants' and refugees’ rights, equality and non-discrimination, and climate change and migration. 

• Research Skills: Conduct comprehensive research using multiple sources, including Lexis/Nexis, academic studies, expert interviews, and legal documents, among others. 

• Legal Analysis: Analyse international, regional, and domestic laws in relation to human rights, as well as specific country situations. 

• Legal Drafting and Advice: Prepare legal documents (such as submissions, amicus curiae briefs, or third-party intervention briefs, among others) and provide legal advice and information with the aim of planning strategic litigation. 

• Legal Support and Advocacy: Assist with legal casework-related tasks and contribute to policy and campaign efforts through research, analysis, advice, and a problem-solving approach. 

• Data Compilation: Gather country-specific data on human rights and rule of law matters, including civil society activities and legislative developments. 

• Team Participation: Engage in scheduled staff calls and relevant meetings to support collaborative efforts. 

• Adaptable Role: Perform additional duties and tasks as required by the role. 

Judicial Assistant Grade I| Constitutional Court of Colombia Bogotá, Colombia MAR – AUG 2021 and Judicial Assistant Grade II| Constitutional Court of Colombia Bogotá, Colombia JUL 2018 – MAR 2021: 

• Planned, organised, communicated, executed, monitored, and evaluated human rights legal projects aimed at protecting marginalised people’s human rights by developing a progressive interpretation of the law through the compelling draft of court rulings. 

• Handled individual human rights case queries, conducting legal research and human rights investigations, and analysing diverse legal instruments, case law and legal precedents. 

• Informed legal strategiesfor cases regarding violations/abuses of human rights, including issues related to the displacement and mass influx of Venezuelan people and the longstanding internal displacement crisis in Colombia due to armed conflict. 

• Applied law/policy analysis and advocacy for human rights issues with the aim of rectifying laws, policies, and procedures, complying with international human rights standards and fostering enhanced protection and assistance to asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, and internally displaced people. 

• Implemented diverse research methodologies, including the remote gathering of diverse data (videos, photos, testimonies, and expert reports) to analyse/use it to create well-informed, impartial, and compelling legal documents, including reports, briefing notes, background papers, court rulings, and press communications. 

• Designed and proposed a new interpretation of the Law 1448 of 2011 (Colombian ‘Victims Law’) to promote gender equality and intersectionality within the armed conflict scenario, encouraging the implementation of international law standards. Achieved enabling more than 2,000 women to be recognised as victims of the armed conflict and have access to integral reparation. 

• Assisted with the selection process of human rights and constitutional lawsuits to be reviewed and decided by the court by coordinating the team's work distributing the workloads, setting priorities, preparing work plans, monitoring their progress, and unifying and consolidating the outcome. 

Ad Honorem Judicial Assistant | Constitutional Court of Colombia Bogotá, Colombia JAN – JUL 2018: 

• Worked collaboratively to review 300 human rights and constitutional law cases per day to identify and assess which ones represented human rights violations/abuses. 

• Solved a bottleneck of 3,000 human rights lawsuits in the selection process by encouraging teamwork spirit and accountability to meet deadlines by adjusting the team’s priorities.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Legal Researcher | Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) London, United Kingdom AUG 2022 – MAY 2023: 

• Drafted urgent appeals/communications to be submitted to the UN. Prepared human rights reports and actionable recommendations for addressing the Turkish refugee crisis and the discriminatory heat speech against refugees, among other human rights matters. 

• Conducted cutting-edge human rights research and provided high-quality analysis and expert advice on matters related to international human rights and humanitarian law, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding in armed conflict contexts such as the Kurdish-Turkish Conflict. 

• Drafted a proposal to implement devolution as a resolution strategy to the Turkish armed conflict, applying remote sensing research approaches. 

• Monitored, researched, and analysed human rights-related developments to provide timely, accurate, independent, and impartial assessments and expert advice on the impact of the Turkish armed conflict and other human rights crises in the Middle East region. 

• Provided administrative, logistical, and technical support to the CEO. 

Legal Researcher and Advisor | Public International Law Pro-Bono Project (PILPBP) London, United Kingdom NOV 2021 – APR 2022: 

• Carried out research to advise the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) on their Peace Treaty Initiative aimed at creating a legal framework for armed conflict resolution. 

• Researched and drafted a compelling report which included a comparative analysis and interpretation of laws, jurisprudence, and policies from the domestic, regional, and international levels to provide advice on issues concerning the impacts of amnesties on the victim’s rights, the negotiation of peace processes, and the implementation of peace agreements in non-international armed conflicts. 

Legal Advisor | Public Actions Group of Pontifical Javeriana University Bogotá, Colombia JAN 2013 – DEC 2016: 

• Prepared human rights lawsuits on behalf of vulnerable/disadvantaged people before the Colombian Constitutional Court. 

• Drafted legal research memoranda, legal concepts, and amicus curiae briefs submitted to the Colombian Constitutional Court regarding human rights and constitutional issues. 

Research Assistant | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) Remote AUG – NOV 2015: 

• Built, analysed, and assessed datasets that included compiled information on cases related to allegations of corporate human rights abuse worldwide, which were published on the BHRRC web page. 

• Examined the private sector's role in human rights violations

EDUCATION

LLM in Public Law | University College London (UCL) London, United Kingdom 2021 – 2022 2:1 (Merits):

 COLFUTURO/UCL Graduate Scholarship (2021-22). Specialised in International Human Rights Law, International and European Refugee Law, Judicial Review, Judges, Courts, and Judicial Decision-Making, and Constitutional Law. Drafted a research essay titled ‘A New Human Rights-Centred Approach for Refugee Law’, where I assessed, sustained, and explained why the international refugee regime is ill-suited to meet the challenges of the 21st century due to the over-reliance on principles such as state sovereignty and territorial supremacy, which has led to a state-cantered approach to accountability and protection. 

LLB Bachelor of Law | Pontifical Javeriana University Bogotá, Colombia 2012 – 2017 Firs-Class Hons.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Human Rights Summer School | University of Essex Remote JUN 2023: 

Focused on key debates and challenges in human rights promotion, the operational challenges and opportunities from a field perspective, round tables on professional challenges, research design (legal and qualitative single case study), the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods, strategic litigation, international advocacy (multilateral and transnational), strategic communications and framing, campaigning and theory of change, the experience working in repressive states, and how to maximise impact (working with international monitors), among other topics. 

United Nations Human Rights Council Training Programme | United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Remote FEB 2023:

Focused on the UN system and humanitarian intervention; conference diplomacy; the UNHRC; the OHCHR; the treaty bodies and UN mechanism; negotiation skills and techniques; the SDG; human rights and digital skills; and leadership and advocacy abilities.