Her profound commitment to human rights is reflected in her life’s work and the many roles she has undertaken to be an advocate for vulnerable and marginalized communities around the globe.
SUMMERVILLE, SC, January 09, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ — Nesha D. Abiraj has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
In addition to being a distinguished International Human Rights lawyer, Ms. Abiraj is the Co-Founder & President of the newly formed Nonprofit, Climate Rights and Justice International, focused on the impact of the climate crisis on the exacerbation of human rights violations, with a focus on the right to health. She previously served as an Ambassador to Island States and vulnerable coastal regions on issues related to international climate justice and human rights.
Her profound commitment to human rights is reflected in her life’s work and the many roles she has undertaken to be an advocate for vulnerable and marginalized communities around the Globe. She previously served as the Diplomatic and Advocacy Liaison to Stop Ecocide International, a nonprofit seeking to make ecocide, the 5th International Crime against Peace under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Her commitment to international climate justice is reflected in her continued service as an Ambassador to the Organization. Notably, her work on international climate justice has earned her, publications of her legal research papers, in prestigious law journals, including The Lawyer, the International Bar Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.
In 2018, Ms. Abiraj became the first person of Trinidadian origin, to be awarded the Schuette Fellowship in Global Health and Human Rights, which she pursued with Human Rights Watch in New York. She continues to work on key international human rights policies related to the protection of vulnerable and marginalized communities, in particular the rights of indigenous peoples, women, children and refugees in the context of the climate crisis. Notably she worked on infectious diseases law and policy in India, China, the United States and the Eastern Caribbean.
Ms. Abiraj is also a member of the US National Coalition to end early, forced and child marriages. This is a role in which she works pro bono given her relentless commitment to protecting children and in particular women and girls from early, forced, and child marriages, often used as a guise for human trafficking, sexual exploitation and/or modern slavery. In the last 4 years she worked on 9 successful human rights campaigns with the National Coalition, which resulted in child marriage being banned in 9 US States including New York and Massachusetts. She also serves pro bono as a member of the US Advisory Board to Sahiyo, an organization working to end female genital mutilation/cutting, which is an internationally recognized human rights violation and a form of torture, disproportionately affecting young girls globally. Her pro bono work also extends to the work she has done for UNICEF USA. Ms. Abiraj was chosen to serve as a Lead Advocate for UNICEF USA for 5 consecutive years, where she also worked on international humanitarian response relating to key poverty focused issues impacting the lives of children living in humanitarian and developmental settings including conflict zones.
In 2021, she served as a Senior Specialist, in Policy and Advocacy in the Humanitarian affairs Division of Save the Children, Washington DC. Among other noteworthy roles, she also worked independently in her capacity as an international human rights lawyer from 2019 to 2021 dealing with a range of global issues ranging from health inequity amid the pandemic, the right to repatriation to combatting disinformation and misinformation.
Ms. Abiraj’s early career took place in Trinidad and Tobago. Her early training and internships took place with the prestigious Offices of Byrne & Byrne, Lesley-Ann Lucky Samaroo and Vashti Narinesingh, now called Ithaca House as well as Alpha Chambers. Ms. Abiraj credits these attorneys who have become lifelong mentors to her, with her continued success in the legal profession. She also credits her high school principal, and lifelong mentor Ms. Leela Narine for always believing in her and inspiring her to be better every day. She also credits, her Gurus, in particular, Pundit Hardeo Persad, the Parmachariya of Swaha International for her successes and continued spiritual growth.
In June of 2009, after officially entering the role of Barristers, Ms. Abiraj was immediately recruited to work with the offices of Lynette Seebaran & Company, which was and still is one the Caribbean’s leading Law Chambers in family law. In seeking to diversify her knowledge and expertise to include civil litigation, Ms. Abiraj later went on to join Dipnarine Rampersad & Company. In 2011, Ms. Abiraj earned the prestige of being invited by Senior Counsel, Sophia Chote, to work in private practice at her law chambers, Alpha Chambers. Ms. Abiraj flourished there and her Senior Sophia Chote, has continued to be a mentor in her life. During her time at Alpha Chambers, she earned the opportunity to work on a landmark constitutional case, which was brought to the Commonwealth’s Highest Court of Appeal, the Privy Council in London. Ms. Abiraj also credits all of the attorneys she worked with at Alpha Chambers including the interns she mentored, with her success as a civil litigation and constitutional law attorney.
Ms. Abiraj graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honors from the University of London in 2007, a licentiate degree from Staffordshire University in the U.K. with commendations in 2008 and a Master of Laws in international human rights from Northwestern University in 2018. Furthermore, Ms. Abiraj received a multitude of professional credentials, including a license to practice law in her native Trinidad & Tobago and applicable Commonwealth countries, numerous certifications through LinkedIn, Amnesty International, Harvard University, and other professional and academic organizations and institutions in such areas as gender equality, human rights, gender-based violence in emergencies and more.
Ms. Abiraj is a member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and its Human Rights Committee. Her civic affiliations include serving as an Advocacy Lead for UNICEF USA, being a member of the U.S. advisory board to Sahiyo, being a member of the US National Coalition to End Early Forced and Child Marriages and volunteering with the Red Cross during times of crisis. Ms. Abiraj is also a trained Climate Reality Leader with the Climate Reality Project headed by Former US Vice President Al Gore. In this role she has delivered numerous presentations on the impact of the climate crisis on human rights, in several US States, the Caribbean and internationally.
A well-written writer, Ms. Abiraj’s publications reflect her extensive experience and commitment to human rights advocacy. She has contributed notable articles on human rights and other topics and has published legal research papers for the International Bar Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and most recently The Lawyer. Throughout her career, Ms. Abiraj’s most notable accomplishments beyond any accolade or award, have included investigative field research, in particular working with female tuberculosis survivors in India, highlighting her dedication to addressing barriers to access to health, including discrimination and advocating for the promotion and protection of human rights on behalf of vulnerable communities. Ms. Abiraj has held on to this experience, which she credits with her relentless desire to promote and protect the human rights of all people. She also received several accolades, including recognition among the Top 100 Women in the World, Women Who Win and the Free Expression Courage Award from Pen America. In 2019, Ms. Abiraj became the first person of Trinidadian origins and the first researcher from Human Rights Watch at the time, to be awarded the Citation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for her tireless work to end early, forced and child marriages. She was also featured in one the top newspapers in her country of origin, namely the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, highlighting her journey and work. She was also highlighted by UNICEF USA in Forbes.
Ms. Abiraj is eager to conduct investigative research on behalf of her nonprofit, to advance her field and provide information for policy-making that demands a human rights-driven response to the climate crisis. Additionally, she seeks to build partnerships, advocate for improved environmental laws safeguarding human rights, establish legal pathways for climate refugees seeking asylum, create policy-based avenues for accessing climate justice and raise awareness about the connection between the climate crisis and public health. Ms. Abiraj attributes her success to the robust support system she has in her friends and family and in particular her mother, and her late grandmothers, in addition to her unwavering commitment to living a life of service to humanity.
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