Fulbright-Clinton Fellow joins Ombudsman’s Office

“The world is looking to this small island developing state to set the tone for the respect of human rights in the Pacific. It is an exciting time for Samoa, an especially momentous occasion for the Ombudsman’s Office, and I cannot think of a better place to be a Fulbright Fellow”

The Ombudsman’s Office has welcomed a Fulbright-Clinton Fellow to their team.

Johanna Gusman has been placed at the newly established National Human Rights Institution, to assist in the drafting of the women’s issues and gender-based violence section of the first State of Human Rights Report due to Parliament in June of next year.

The J. William Fulbright-Hilary Rodham Clinton (Fulbright-Clinton) Fellowship is a component of the Fulbright United States Student Programme.

Fellows serve in professional placements as special assistants in foreign government ministries or institutions to gain hands-on public sector experience in foreign countries while simultaneously carrying out an academic research/study project.

Ms. Gusman is a Gates Public Law Scholar (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation scholarship), who graduated from the University of Washington, with a concentration in international law in 2013.

During her legal studies, she served as a Human Rights Liaison at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' headquarters in Geneva and contributed to a General Assembly report on integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda, under the United

Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation.

Most recently, she worked at the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Regional Office, on global tobacco control policy.

Through her participation in the fellowship, Ms. Gusman hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the Samoan people and their traditions, widen her experience in using human rights indicators for evidence-based reporting, and learn how to implement laws and policies using a rights-based approach informed by the realities of the most vulnerable populations.

For her Fulbright research, she will be look into the cross-section of women’s health outcomes and public policy as it relates to Samoa’s international legal commitments to ending violence and discrimination against women and girls.

Asked about her thoughts on the work set out for her, she said she is excited.

“I am honoured to assist the Ombudsman in the historically significant very first State of Human Rights Report, particularly as Samoa prepares for its second Universal Periodic Review under the Human Rights Council in 2016,” she said.

“The world is looking to this small island developing state to set the tone for the respect of human rights in the Pacific. It is an exciting time for Samoa, an especially momentous occasion for the Ombudsman’s Office, and I cannot think of a better place to be a Fulbright Fellow".

She has also been impressed by the hospitality of the Samoan people and their willingness to teach her the culture of Fa’asamoa. She has already enjoyed excursions with local families to the beautiful beaches as well as shared in some traditionally prepared cuisine, of which palusami is her favourite.

If you are interested in learning more about the Ombudsman’s Office’s new mandate as the National Human Rights Institution please visit www.ombudsman.gov.ws. If you have information on women’s rights and/or gender-based violence issues that you would like to raise for inclusion in the State of Human Rights Report, please contact the Office at info@ombudsman.gov.ws or call 25394.