Making human rights accessible to all – VU Amsterdam

This blog post was written by VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT AMSTERDAM

Leonore – master’s student in Law

A combination of technology and law, with consideration for ethical issues. This appealed to master’s student Leonore. During the elective course International Law Clinic, she joined the start-up Virtual Human Rights Lawyer (VHRL). In this project, Leonore researched how to offer information about human rights using technology. For example, how do you create the best design for the VHRL? And how do you win people’s trust with an app?

https://youtu.be/cqa7Idv_gpk

The Virtual Human Rights Lawyer is a smart tool that gives everyone access to human rights

There are many laws, regulations and treaties that ensure we’re protected against human rights violations. But people often don’t know what to do to get legal help, or don’t have access to it. What do you do, for example, if you’re unjustly imprisoned? The Virtual Human Right Lawyer project of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) aims to help in these situations. That’s why the group is developing an app with which civil society organisations all over the world can gain access to information about human rights. It helps them navigate their way through the maze of local and regional laws and regulations. The end result? Information about what (legal) steps to take so victims can get justice.