Amal Clooney: The Superhuman Lawyer

Amal Clooney is a high-profile international human rights barrister, who’s worked tirelessly and selflessly to defend the rights of those around the world. Born in Lebanon, Amal and her family fled as refugees to England at a time when her birth-country was going through a civil war. Her father was a professor at an American university in Beirut and her mother was a journalist. The family fled Lebanon when Amal was only 2. Amal was an excellent student and attended Dr. Challoners High School in Buckinghamshire. She obtained a scholarship to study at Oxford where she got a bachelors in jurisprudence. She then went on to study her Masters degree at NYU Law.  Clooney then worked at Sullivan and Cromwell in New York  and later at Doughty Chambers in England prior to her focus on the human rights sector. Let’s take a look at her astounding career. 

In 2012, Amal Clooney became an Advisor to Kofi Anaan, the former Secretary General of the UN (1997-2006). Later, she had a role as a UN and Arab Envoy to Syria; this is where Amal was appointed as his senior advisor. In 2014, she joined a TaskForce to End Sexual Violence in War zones. She was asked by former foreign Secretary William Hague to advise and join the group on how to combat the issue at hand. She also joined Algelina Jolie at a summit in London in order to campaign the task. Also in 2014, Amal Clooney represented the Ukranian former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She was the Prime Minister from 2007-2010 before being “convicted” of fraud and abuse of power. Consequently, she was sentenced to seven years in prison. The charges were said to be entirely politically motivated. 

In 2015, Clooney fought for the Elgin Marbles to be returned to Greece from the British Museum in London. These classical Greek sculptures were part of the Parthenon and other ancient buildings in Athens. Also in 2015, Amal Clooney represented the former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. He was the first democratically appointed president and wawa imprisoned for 13 years. She urged for his immediate release, arguing that the jailing was ‘politically motivated’. In 2017, Amal Clooney began the proceedings to charge Isis with genocide crimes. Her client, Nadia Murad, was a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and she'd survived being held as a slave and repeatedly raped when her Northern Iraqi Village was invaded. She wanted “to bring her perpetrators to justice”. They both appeared in front of the UN to argue their cause; the UN council adopted a resolution to investigate Isis and collect evidence of genocide and war crimes against humanity.

From 2018 to May of 2019, Amal Clooney worked and represented Reuters Journalists. Two journalists reporting for the global news agency “Reuters'' were detained in Myanmar as they were reporting on the treatment of Rohingya muslims. Amal Clooney joined their legal team. On May 7th, 2019, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were released after spending more than 500 days in prison. Clooney spoke proudly of this victory: “It has been an honour to represent Reuters and the two journalists in this case and I hope that their release signals a renewed commitment to press freedom in Myanmar.'' Clooney was also appointed by the UK government as a special envoy on Media Freedom to the Foregin and Commonwealth Office. She resigned late 2020 due to conflict regarding potential violations of international law. 

After marrying one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, Amal Clooney rose to fame; yet, she only ever uses her spotlight for good. Constantly bringing awareness to the causes and clients she fights for. Amal Clooney believes that hope breeds eternal and that anything is possible, especially after her family fled Lebanon. She works tirelessly and doesn’t stop until justice is served. Everyone should look up to Amal Clooney: she has dedicated her life and career to helping others selflessly. In 2004, she accepted a fee of only $20,000 from the UN; she isn’t in this for herself but for the good of others. Clooney takes on seemingly hopeless cases yet finds a way to look at the glass as half full. 

IMAGE SOURCES

https://www.law.com/international-edition/2020/09/04/amal-clooney-brings-international-attention-to-case-against-prominent-zimbabwe-lawyer/?slreturn=20210224020052

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Missions/15531/Amal-Clooney-fights-for-human-rights-on-an-international-scale