Monika Kalra Varma '00, RFK Center Director, Speaks at King Hall
Monika Kalra Varma '00, Director of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (RFK Center), spoke on RFK Center initiatives, the organization's partnership with the California International Law Center at King Hall (CILC), and her career as a human rights advocate in the King Hall Moot Courtroom on October 26. Sponsored by CILC, the event drew a large audience of students and faculty including Dean Kevin R. Johnson, Professor Diane Marie Amann, CILC's executive director, and Professors Keith Aoki and Clay Tanaka.
Remarking that this was her first chance to visit King Hall since graduation, Varma shared reminiscences of her time as a student, which included courses with Dean Johnson and Professor Amann. "It's nice to be back and great to be visiting under these circumstances and under the auspices of CILC," she said.
A member of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (CHR) team since 2002, Varma previously served as Program Director and a Legal and Program Officer of the Center. She described her experiences directing the center's extensive economic and social rights advocacy, and said her work with activists in Haiti had been particularly meaningful. Varma described in some detail how she had helped to file a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department that unearthed documents exposing the U.S. government's role in blocking the disbursal of millions of dollars in loans that were urgently needed water and sanitation projects in Haiti, but which were derailed in 2001 by politically-motivated interventions. The RFK Center's report on the situation helped to spur Congressional action.
"Once I met the people involved, I realized ‘no' was not an option," said Varma. "I felt a responsibility to the community and an attachment to the individuals. I realized that I needed to explore every avenue, and every time the way was blocked, I needed to try another way."
Varma also discussed the RFK Center's Human Rights Award, and how the center has used it to bring attention to human rights problems that have gotten relatively little notice in the media. She announced that the 2009 award would go to Magodonga Mahlangu and her organization, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), and mentioned past winners including Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, the Darfuri physician and peace negotiator whom CILC brought to King Hall in March 2009.
Varma also offered advice to students seeking careers in her field. Very often, she said, the best jobs and internships are extremely competitive, and she encouraged students to maintain active memberships in human rights organizations they're interested in working for as a means of increasing their knowledge of the organizations and demonstrating their commitment. "If you don't get your dream job out of school, take what you can get, but stay in touch with the human rights world," said Varma.
California International Law Center at King Hall (CILC)
