Katrine Camilleri
Encyclopedia
Katrine Camilleri Maltese
, lawyer
, assistant Director of JRS
Malta, holder of the 2007 Nansen Refugee Award
(United Nations Refugee Award) in recognition of her work for the rights of boat people fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea.
(JRS), first as a volunteer, then part-time and eventually full-time. JRS became the first organization to offer professional legal services on a regular basis to detainees in Malta. Since 1997, Katrine Camilleri has provided legal advice to hundreds of persons kept in administrative detention centres in Malta, focusing her efforts on the most vulnerable.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, assistant Director of JRS
Jesuit Refugee Service
The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic organization that aids refugees, forcibly displaced peoples, and asylum seekers. JRS operates at national and regional levels. Founded in November, 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on March 19, 2000 in...
Malta, holder of the 2007 Nansen Refugee Award
Nansen Refugee Award
The Nansen Refugee Award formerly known as the Nansen Medal is given annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to individuals or groups in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees. It is one of the most prestigious awards in the United Nations system...
(United Nations Refugee Award) in recognition of her work for the rights of boat people fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea.
Background
Born in 1970 on the island of Malta, Dr Katrine Camilleri studied law and as student she undertook research into access to rights and protection for refugees. After her graduation from the University of Malta in 1994, she began working in a small law firm, where she came into contact with refugees.Work
In 2002, the number of asylum seekers and economic migrants arriving in Malta by boat increased sharply, a situation faced by several European countries around the Mediterranean. After first helping to prevent the deportation of a Libyan asylum seeker who risked persecution if returned home, Ms. Camilleri’s interest in refugee protection grew. In 1996, she started to work with the Malta office of Jesuit Refugee ServiceJesuit Refugee Service
The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic organization that aids refugees, forcibly displaced peoples, and asylum seekers. JRS operates at national and regional levels. Founded in November, 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on March 19, 2000 in...
(JRS), first as a volunteer, then part-time and eventually full-time. JRS became the first organization to offer professional legal services on a regular basis to detainees in Malta. Since 1997, Katrine Camilleri has provided legal advice to hundreds of persons kept in administrative detention centres in Malta, focusing her efforts on the most vulnerable.