Without comprehensive training, students on human rights documentation and factfinding trips run the risk of retraumatizing or otherwise negatively impacting affected communities. To reduce these risks, Executive Director James Cavallaro pioneered an immersive simulation exercise while director of the Harvard and Stanford Law Schools’ Human Rights Clinics that allows students to learn and make mistakes in a controlled, supervised environment. Professor Cavallaro and Meghna Sridhar assess the advantages of this methodology in Human Rights Quarterly.

The University Network hires and trains nearly 50 actors playing the roles of villagers, government officials, police officers, translators, and rebels. Students conduct dozens of interviews over a three-day, intensive period to investigate a fictitious situation of human rights abuse. The scenario is meticulously designed by UNHR supervisors based on decades of real-life experience in the field. Students then work in small teams to write reports and participate in mock media and advocacy exercises. Following the simulation, each student receives extensive, individualized feedback on their performance and suggestions for improvement for future factfinding work.

The simulation has been extraordinarily successful in preparing students – from undergrads to clinical law students – for the practice of human rights.