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As someone who has always been fascinated by public international law in particular international humanitarian law, interning with the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and undermining the right of people to self-determination struck me as an exciting opportunity. Reflecting on the experience, it did not only surpass my expectations but also imparted upon me invaluable research skills for a career in international law. My responsibilities revolved around researching issues concerning mercenaries and private military and security companies in several countries.

The Working Group is a component of the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Procedures and as such involved a lot of engagement with issues of international human rights law but also international refugee law among others. This exposure highlighted how cross-cutting international law can be in practice. An observation that stood out when I was assigned to investigate trends and developments pertaining the trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced enlistment as mercenaries. A task that illustrated the overlap of complex issues of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law which guided my choice of modules in the LLM in Peace Operations, Humanitarian Law and Conflict. This assignment also made me appreciate the collaborative nature of the work of United Nations Special Rapporteurs despite the specific mandates they are given.

Contributing to the compilation of information through researching relevant items towards the drafting of thematic reports for the Working Group made me engage with findings by other UN Special Rapporteurs which culminated in the opportunity to attend the 62^nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. This occasion enabled me to witness the presentation of thematic reports by human rights experts at and offered a first-hand glimpse into multilateral diplomacy centred on human rights through seeing deliberations between various state representatives and UN Special Rapporteurs. As a result, interning with the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and undermining the right of people to self-determination not only served as a navigation guide in my LLM studies, but also turned out to be a networking platform for me through exposing me to renowned experts on international human rights law.

I am grateful to the Irish Centre for Human Rights for the chance of interning with the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and undermining the right of people to self-determination. My advice to students at the Centre is to keep an eye out for such opportunities through their university emails. Not only do they enrich one’s career pursuits but also enable students to maximise their studies at the Centre.