Ana Elena Abello Jiménez

I was interning for the strategic litigation section of MDAC for three months. This was a good experience, since I wanted to get a closer view to the rights of people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in the European system of human rights. During my time at MDAC, I did legal research on several topics, such as access to justice, fair trial, the right to vote, among others. The results of the research were to be used on the submissions of the cases before the European Court of Human Rights. I got to read a lot of judgments of the ECtHR, and some academic publications, which gave me a deeper knowledge on the status quo of the implementation of the CRPD in Europe, as well as a better understanding of the main articles of the convention, in particular, Article 19 which enshrines the right of living independently and being included in the community.

It was an enriching experience, since it was the first time I worked for an NGO and especially with people having different backgrounds (not only legal but social sciences backgrounds), so I think this gave me a more comprehensive view of the different issues related to the implementation of the CRPD. I also met lovely people that made my stance even nicer.

Last but certainly not least, I just think Budapest is the best city ever so it is a very happy coincidence that MDAC is located there!