Otago Law alumna Katarina Schwarz has been appointed a United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons.
At a young age, Katarina Schwarz aspired to work for the United Nations (UN) on human rights and humanitarian issues.
This month, Katarina, who graduated from Otago with an LLB (Hons) in 2016 and BA in 2014, starts in her new role as a UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons.
“I think 13-year-old Katarina would have been pleased to be taking up a UN mandate,” says Katarina, who is Associate Professor in Anti-Slavery Law and Policy at the University of Nottingham, and Associate Director of the Rights Lab.
The UN Human Rights Council position is a merger of previous anti-slavery and anti-trafficking rapporteur mandates and is a major global leadership role addressing the causes and consequences of slavery and trafficking in persons.
“I knew for a very long time I wanted to work in human rights and social justice. When I decided I was going to pursue Law at Otago, I already knew that human rights was the direction I wanted to go in.”
While she had always thought the UN and multilateral institutions were an important force for good, it wasn’t until she was doing her law honours dissertation at Otago that she became specifically interested in the anti-slavery space.
In a meeting with her supervisor, Professor Paul Roth, they talked about the Caribbean Community CARICOM releasing its plan for reparatory justice for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and Katarina decided to focus her dissertation on the case for reparations for historical enslavement.
“That was the entry point to my work on slavery and to my PhD, because my ultimate PhD supervisor read my honours dissertation and invited me to do a PhD in the UK.
“It genuinely opened the gate to everything that followed. To have done that dissertation work at Otago and also to have had it published in the Otago Yearbook of Legal Research – the fact that dissertations go out publicly was the reason that Professor Jean Allain had ever read my work and that therefore he thought that I was the right person to come and do this doctoral project.”
She says once she started working on anti-slavery and anti-trafficking she realised there was so much she could do in this space, so many gaps to fill and so much power that research and advocacy could bring to the field.
“There are so many challenging issues that we face in the world today and it’s really easy to feel overwhelmed by how many tragedies take place, how many conflicts there are, how many issues there are to resolve.
“I think often the best we can do is pick a niche and do as much work as we can in a space where we can make progress. And when enough people are doing that across enough niches we can make meaningful change.”
As Special Rapporteur, she will be monitoring global trends, engaging with governments and stakeholders, conducting country visits, responding to alleged human rights violations, and recommending action at national, regional and international levels to prevent exploitation and protect victims.
“Essentially being a global representative for anti-slavery and anti-trafficking issues and engaging with folks working in this space, liaising with government, to try and move the needle on these issues globally.”
Dean of the University of Otago Faculty of Law – Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture, Associate Professor Bridgette Toy-Cronin, says it is deeply rewarding to hear Katarina reflect on her Otago Law education and the part it played in igniting a specific interest in anti‑trafficking.
“The appointment as UN Special Rapporteur is a very significant one, and we are very proud of her achievements, dedication and leadership in this field.”
Katarina will combine her UN work with her role at Nottingham, where she leads the Rights Lab’s Law and Policy Programme. This involves leading a team of researchers working on various dimensions of anti-slavery law and policy, across “everything from survivor support to trade and investment policy to humanitarian law to climate change policy, all as they intersect with the issues of slavery and trafficking”.
“The Rights Lab is the world’s largest modern slavery research centre by quite a mile. It’s a real concentration and has developed over the past 10 years to be a real hub for anti-slavery and anti-trafficking work, not just in the UK, but internationally.”
Katarina has built an international reputation for her work that bridges legal frameworks and lived experience. Her research has focused on closing the gap between international commitments and their implementation in domestic law and policy.
She is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of researchers, which she will continue to do at the same time as undertaking her UN role.
“I have boundless energy for work in this space and for using that to help make the movement better. I hope that I can also encourage others to join and persist in advocating for human rights, and to hold onto that hope.”
-Kōrero by Margie Clark, Communications Adviser, Development and Alumni Relations Office
Faculty of Law
The University of Otago's Faculty of Law is a leader in legal research in New Zealand. It also has an international reputation for producing independent, well-prepared graduates, who find career opportunities throughout the world.