She recently returned to her old University to share her experiences with the students of Public International Law of Susana Sanz, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair at CEU UCH.
The intervention of this Law alumni –who serves as the migration focal point in the Mexico Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights– was so inspiring that Actualidad CEU has talked with her again to share her experiences and reflections with the entire university community.
How long have you been working in this Office and what does your job consist of?
Since April 2019. I am responsible for implementing the Office’s mandate regarding the promotion and protection of human rights of people on the move (migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and internally displaced persons in the country), as well as those who defend their rights.
The foregoing includes technical assistance to the authorities, monitoring of the human rights situation and documentation of human rights violations of the aforementioned group.
We also analyse laws and propose legislative changes to adapt them to what is established by international standards on the matter. I write reports, statements, communications, briefings… Some of a public nature and others, internal.
As migration must be analysed from a regional perspective, I am also in continuous contact with the other offices in the region and with the headquarters, and we update each other on any relevant event.
‘I am responsible for implementing the Office’s mandate regarding the promotion and protection of human rights of people on the move (migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and internally displaced persons in the country), as well as those who defend their rights’
Many complex challenges. There is not a “typical” day of work…
Indeed. Every day is different and this is what also makes this job extremely interesting.
Over the last two weeks, there were days in which I had to spend long hours at airports to observe the processes of the first and second immigration review with the aim of documenting possible violations of due process, as well as interviewing people whose entry has been rejected in the country and are being held waiting to be returned to their countries; I have participated in observing a search for human remains in a garbage dump; I have entered immigration stations to interview the people detained there and learn the conditions of their detention; I have had meetings with authorities, victims’ groups, other UN agencies…
And all of the above must be done while writing reports, responding to requests for information from central or regional offices, designing protection strategies, early warnings, promoting work groups or participating in interagency spaces, among other things.
On top of that, you always have to be prepared because, in addition, an urgent case might arise and you have to start the documentation process, either by moving imminently to the scene or starting with the verification and data collection remotely.
Suchiate River, border with Guatemala 
It is impressive to listen to you. We would like to know how you experience it personally but first tell us, Andrea, what projects are you focusing on right now.
Right now, my main project is coordinating a consultancy on the prevention of racial profiling practices at the international airports of Cancun and Mexico City. That is why we have been to some airports and held meetings with all relevant stakeholders, from migrants to civil society organizations, the judiciary, human rights institutions…
The idea is to be able to collect findings and make recommendations to the different authorities in a report. At the same time, and before the end of the year, I will be working on two videos that we are going to publish on December 18 for International Migrants Day; promoting a mapping of initiatives and actors for the working group on smuggling, trafficking and disappearance of migrants that we lead together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime within the UN Network for Migration; and working on a regional publication on returns of migrants.
‘On a small scale, and particularly with victims, our work does make a difference’
In your work you see every day how people’s rights are violated. Are you optimistic, do you see that your work and that of your colleagues help to improve things?
The truth is that we work in an extremely challenging context in which a multitude of factors converge. If there was only one formula, believe me, things would be very different!
Sometimes our work can be a bit frustrating since the changes in patterns have been happening very slowly and, in some cases, we even register setbacks. On a small scale, and particularly with victims, our work does make a difference.
A necessary task: ensuring the rights of victims 
Can you share with us a specific case of success in which your intervention has been decisive?
I’ll tell you about one that happened a few days ago. During the documentation visits to international airports, we heard about the case of a couple from Venezuela with well-founded fear of being returned to their country.
Thanks to the fact that we were present in the place, the couple was able to request asylum, but as soon as we left, it seems that they gave up and were returned to Colombia.
From Colombia they contacted me to inform me of what had really happened, since, according to their information, it would have been the migration agents who convinced them to discontinue the process.
In this call they expressed their intention to return to Mexico and continue with the asylum process. Since it was highly probable that they would be sent directly to a second review and their entry into the country would be rejected, we were able to inform the relevant authorities so that they could file an amparo in favour of the couple before the immigration authorities executed the rejection order.
Thanks to this rapid and coordinated action, the couple managed to enter Mexico, where they have started a process for the recognition of refugee status.
‘Self-care is essential. You work every day listening to inhuman stories, full of pain and despair, which end up affecting you and your work’
Without a doubt, excellent news. But, we mentioned it before, you work surrounded by a lot of suffering. How do you handle it personally, Andrea?
Self-care in this job is essential. You work every day listening to inhuman stories, full of pain and despair, that end up affecting you and, consequently, affecting your work and your relationship with the victims.
In addition, without realizing it, you end up normalizing them. The first time I documented an extrajudicial execution case, I was unable to sleep for a long time.
In my case, I try to be very disciplined in sports, sleeping and eating. From time to time I try to meditate, it is something that has proved to be good for me, but I usually do not find the time or the will to do it as often as I should.
You have to secure these small spaces with yourself and know how to disconnect from professional life.
No day of work is the same, except in the fight for human rights 
Now we will address your career. Before your current job, you had already worked in an NGO in Mexico watching over the rights of migrants. Why this group?
It could be said that the fact that I myself am, and have been, a migrant person, has influenced this decision… Jokes aside, working with this group I have realized the amount of privileges that, as a European, I have when crossing a border. And it seems unfair to me that there are people who, literally, risk their lives by placing themselves in the hands of illicit human trafficking networks, crossing the Mediterranean or the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, to give some examples, where many among them are children and pregnant women, who not only lose their lives but are exposed to a multitude of risks.
And they do it by fleeing from something worse.
Indeed. Many of these people are fleeing a violence that reaches shocking levels and are abandoning everything they have known so far not out of pleasure, but out of necessity.
At the same time, they are people with a drive and determination that I have rarely seen. I am still amazed today by each of their stories, and all this has been decisive in wanting to continue with this collective you asked about, who are in a situation of extreme vulnerability and who, on top of that, face increasingly worrying levels of xenophobia and discrimination.
‘Many of these people are fleeing a violence that reaches shocking levels and are abandoning everything they have known so far not out of pleasure, but out of necessity’
Why Mexico?
It was a matter of chance! I am very grateful to this country because it has given me the opportunity to grow professionally and personally.
High levels of violence aside, Mexico is fascinating: it has an extraordinary cultural richness and unmatched scenic beauty. I feel very lucky to have been able to live here for the past five years.
Your professional life did not start in the area of Human Rights. Before, you did an internship in a law firm in Valencia and worked at the headquarters of two companies, one of them Netflix, in Germany and Portugal. Wasn’t “traditional law” your thing?
Curiously, when I started law school, my objective was the commercial branch. It’s hard to imagine something so different (she laughs).
Thanks to the CEU internships, I realized that this path was not going to make me happy. I didn’t feel at all fulfilled when I got up each morning to go to the office. It was a frustrating as well as terrifying experience, since I was finishing my degree and I only knew that I did not want to pursue a career in what I had studied law for.
Photographs taken by Andrea in the Lavrio refugee camp, in Greece
And how did you find your true calling?
From this moment on I began to look for my path, in which, in reality, there have been many ups and downs.
My first professional experience, as you mentioned, was in Berlin, and it allowed me to save enough to go to Madagascar and volunteer there for the first time. This was something that had always caught my attention, but I had a thousand doubts and had not found who to share them with before.
It was in Madagascar where, for the first time, I felt that everything made sense, but it took me another year to make the final decision to really focus all my effort in this area. And it wasn’t until I started with Asylum Access, the NGO on the Mexico-Guatemala border, that all the people I worked with every day helped me make this decision.
‘It is difficult to find a profession in which you are always available and, despite this, you keep getting up every morning excited to start the day’
In addition to resources to continue moving forward on your path, did you learn any lesson in that first work experience?
Of course! International experiences enrich you a lot on a personal and professional level. Living with different cultures, religions, nationalities and in multicultural work environments and learning to respect all of them equally is essential. You learn a lot about your environment and about yourself.
I remember that these experiences allowed me to confront many prejudices that we unintentionally have ingrained. In addition, living in another country means putting yourself to the test at every moment, facing a language, a system and a culture that you do not know… and all this is very valuable.
In many moments, and more in the professional field, we must be prepared to leave our comfort zone, and these experiences give you the tools to face these moments.
Andrea. Surely more than one law student reading this interview dreams of working to defend the rights of the world’s most vulnerable, like you. What advice can you give them?
If I could give some advice to my past self, it would be to start gaining experience and meeting people in this field now, because the competition is overwhelming.
For this, there are many possibilities in the city itself, volunteering for the Red Cross or other organizations, as well as abroad.
In the summer holidays there is a great deal of time that can be invested in gaining, little by little, experience in the field. This type of experience is essential to continue growing professionally in this area.
Also, I cannot ignore that languages are fundamental in this work.
I would also tell them that it is a long-distance race in which, on many occasions, they will feel very frustrated and lost. You often find that no one around you knows what advice to give you because they are totally unaware of the ins and outs of this professional career. That is why conversations with colleagues who are in the same situation or who have been through it are essential. All of us have been through this.
‘If I could give some advice to my past self, it would be to start gaining experience and meeting people in this field now, because the competition is overwhelming’
It is evident that you are happy in your work. Do you have other plans for the future?
“I could have never imagined a job that would fulfil me so much. I am very grateful to have come this far and I hope I can do to this for many more years»
‘It is difficult to find a profession in which you are always available and, despite this, you keep getting up every morning excited to start the day’
It has been a long road, but I can see that little by little I am reaping the fruits.
Now, there is still a long way to go and I hope to be able to work in completely different contexts that allow me to face new challenges and continue to grow.
And from the future to the past. We must ask you about your time at the CEU. Any remarkable memory from this stage?
If I have to choose what I value the most, I think it would be that I discovered my great passion for literature.
For a year, I had the opportunity to take an extracurricular class that I really enjoyed and that I still remember fondly to this day. Currently, and still motivated by that feeling, I am focused on writing a book that I hope to finish on 2022. So I take the opportunity to greet Santiago for having opened the door to this fascinating world.
Andrea, we will be pleased to hear more from you. Thank you with our deepest admiration and take good care of yourself.
Thank you very much.
‘I am very grateful to México because it has given me the opportunity to grow professionally and person’ 
