Brunsfield Foundation supports human rights work in Southeast Asia

A gift of almost £170,000 from the Brunsfield Foundation will enable professionals from Southeast Asia to study for the MSt in International Human Rights Law through distance learning.

The two-year course is offered by the Department for Continuing Education and the Faculty of Law and attracts professionals from across the globe. So far, students for the MSt have come from 80 countries and worked in the human rights field in very diverse ways, from working in refugee camps to designing a human rights-based curriculum for primary school students.

The gift from the giving arm of the Brunsfield Group, based in Malaysia, will allow five scholars from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, which includes countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand, to take the MSt in the next five years.

The first Brunsfield Oxford Scholar

Evalyn Ursua is a human rights lawyer, campaigner and university professor in the Philippines, and was awarded the first Brunsfield Oxford ASEAN Human Rights Scholarship. Currently in her first year of the MSt, she has worked in human rights law in Southeast Asia for over 20 years and has an impressive track record.

The challenges around human rights in Southeast Asia are enormous, but specialised training in human rights, such as this MSt, can really build the capacity of activists to engage effectively with their communities and governments in this area. So thank you for your support to scholars like me.

‘I work with NGOs, human rights organisations and development agencies, but I also do human rights litigation, research and training,’ explains Evalyn. ‘For example, I represent victims of gender-based violence in cases that go before the Philippines court. I’ve also recently developed training on women’s rights for UN Women, to be delivered to magistrates and prosecutors in Timor-Leste.’

Exploring new ways of promoting human rights

Without the scholarship, Evalyn wouldn’t have been able to come to Oxford. ‘I was elated when I heard that I got it,’ she says. ‘Studying at Oxford would simply not be possible without the scholarship, because there was no way I could afford to pursue the course without any support.’ She is confident that the course will provide her with the skills ‘to explore new ways of promoting human rights in Southeast Asia’.

As someone who recognises the issues concerning human rights in her country and the wider region, she is grateful for this opportunity. ‘The challenges around human rights in Southeast Asia are enormous, but specialised training in human rights, such as this MSt, can really build the capacity of activists to engage effectively with their communities and governments in this area,’ says Evalyn. She adds: ‘So thank you for your support to scholars like me.’

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