“I Believe That Justice Must Be Waged, It Is Not Something That Happens On Its Own”: Amal Clooney On What Keeps Her Fight As A Human Rights Barrister Alive

As one of the most accomplished human rights barristers working today, Amal Clooney has built a remarkable reputation as a supreme defender of those who have suffered systemic abuse, particularly women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence. “I’m constantly moved by the courage of those who pursue truth even when that comes at a great personal cost: journalists who dare to speak truth to power, young women who refuse to be silenced,” Clooney tells British Vogue.

In 2019, she and her husband, George, launched the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which provides free legal aid in over 40 countries. The greatest challenge she faces in the pursuit of justice? “Apathy. There will always be injustice, cruelty, and abuses of power,” she continues. “But if the good people—those who don’t agree with what is happening—stay quiet, it becomes very difficult to effect change. If there is more cowardice than courage in the corridors of power—in governments, companies—it is very difficult to improve the system. Yet I believe that justice must be waged, it is not something that simply happens on its own.”

Vogue: Hi Amal, could you tell us what you are working on at the moment?

Amal Clooney: I am currently representing Maria Ressa, a journalist facing life imprisonment in the Philippines simply for doing her job. I have recently filed submissions in a case at the International Court of Justice seeking justice for the victims of genocide in Myanmar. And I represent 871 victims of ISIS in a case in the East District of New York. My clients in this case include Nadia Murad—a Yazidi survivor of sexual violence who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize—and it is the first case that provides the victims of ISIS’s genocide a chance to obtain life-changing compensation.

I am also working on the programs I created at the Clooney Foundation for Justice. We run a global legal aid program for women and journalists that now operates in over 40 countries. Our work has already led to dozens of journalists being set free and thousands of women who are victims of violence, child marriage, or discrimination being provided with free legal support. But we are always looking for ways to scale our impact. We are excited to be launching, this October, the Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice, a new partnership between the Clooney Foundation and Oxford University that will harness AI to increase access to justice.