South SFV Today

Three students from Stanford Law School's International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic recently attended COP16 in Cali, Colombia as official observers. Their involvement provided valuable insights into their work with the Colombian human rights organization Dejusticia and offered a firsthand look at international environmental negotiations.

Jasmine Betancourt, Victoria Osanyinpeju, and Nissim Roffe Piket, all JD candidates for 2026, along with Clinical Supervising Attorney Shaw Drake, were granted access to the Blue Zone of COP16. This area was where representatives from around 180 countries gathered to address global biodiversity degradation. The Conference of the Parties aimed to implement commitments from the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Osanyinpeju reflected on the conference's complexity: “The sheer scale of the conference was somewhat daunting at first – how do you even begin to understand the mechanics of coordinating priorities across hundreds of nations, each with unique needs and challenges?” She noted that observing delegates' meticulous debates underscored what is at stake for each nation.

The clinic's partnership with Dejusticia facilitated this observer opportunity. Drake commented on its significance: “This was the biggest COP ever, with upwards of 25,000 delegates and observers in attendance.” He emphasized that it enhanced their collaboration with Dejusticia by incorporating a rights-based perspective into biodiversity discussions.

Clinic Director Gulika Reddy highlighted their focus on community-led advocacy: “Our partnership with Dejusticia is aligned with the clinic’s focus on community-led, interdisciplinary advocacy.” She noted that integrating human rights into biodiversity discussions has historically been limited but is evolving. The experience allowed students to engage in advocacy alongside Dejusticia.

Betancourt expressed her interest in pursuing human rights work post-graduation: “Starting from day one of the conference, I knew that my time working with Dejusticia at COP16 was going to be a core experience of my time at SLS.”

In contrast to some mundane aspects of negotiations within contact groups, Betancourt observed dynamic exchanges in the Green Zone: “There were an incredible number of side panels as well as booths set-up inside the conference space where organizations could share outcomes of their work and their advocacy points.”

The students concluded their time by presenting at Dejusticia’s Green Zone kiosk about their experiences. Drake mentioned efforts by Colombia's government to make this "the people’s COP" more accessible: “It was valuable for us to participate in Dejusticia’s efforts to bring the Blue Zone out to the Green Zone and increase transparency for public engagement.”

Roffe Piket noted differences between formal negotiations and external discussions: “Just outside...organizations and advocates were pushing forward groundbreaking dialogue on issues like recognizing legal rights of nature.” He found these dialogues helped him grasp broader conversations and coordinated efforts for change.

The students are drafting a report analyzing major commitments from COP16 concerning international legal obligations including Indigenous people's rights. Drake stressed maintaining focus on human rights amid scientific discussions: “We are particularly interested in making sure that...human rights is not forgotten...which can lean toward science."