As one of the most accomplished human rights barristers working today, Amal Clooney has built a remarkable reputation as a supreme defender of those who have suffered systemic abuse, particularly women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence. “I’m constantly moved by the courage of those who pursue truth even when that comes at a great personal cost: journalists who dare to speak truth to power, young women who refuse to be silenced,” Clooney tells British Vogue.
In 2019, she and her husband, George, launched the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which provides free legal aid in over 40 countries. The greatest challenge she faces in the pursuit of justice? “Apathy. There will always be injustice, cruelty, and abuses of power,” she continues. “But if the good people—those who don’t agree with what is happening—stay quiet, it becomes very difficult to effect change. If there is more cowardice than courage in the corridors of power—in governments, companies—it is very difficult to improve the system. Yet I believe that justice must be waged, it is not something that simply happens on its own.”
Vogue: Hi Amal, could you tell us what you are working on at the moment?
Amal Clooney: I am currently representing Maria Ressa, a journalist facing life imprisonment in the Philippines simply for doing her job. I have recently filed submissions in a case at the International Court of Justice seeking justice for the victims of genocide in Myanmar. And I represent 871 victims of ISIS in a case in the East District of New York. My clients in this case include Nadia Murad—a Yazidi survivor of sexual violence who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize—and it is the first case that provides the victims of ISIS’s genocide a chance to obtain life-changing compensation.
I am also working on the programs I created at the Clooney Foundation for Justice. We run a global legal aid program for women and journalists that now operates in over 40 countries. Our work has already led to dozens of journalists being set free and thousands of women who are victims of violence, child marriage, or discrimination being provided with free legal support. But we are always looking for ways to scale our impact. We are excited to be launching, this October, the Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice, a new partnership between the Clooney Foundation and Oxford University that will harness AI to increase access to justice.
I also recently took up an appointment as a professor of practice in international law at Oxford University and was in Oxford this week to begin my teaching there. I feel honored to have the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds of the next generation. And I am committed to supporting those who wish to pursue justice and careers in human rights. The Clooney Foundation has a fellowship program for young women seeking to practice human rights law in Africa. And later this month I’ll be presenting a Women’s Empowerment Award created by the King’s Trust to champion young women making a difference in their communities. We will also be hosting our annual Albies Awards, honoring courageous defenders of justice around the globe, for the first time in London this coming October.
What keeps you motivated when the work feels especially difficult?
I’m constantly moved by the courage of those who pursue truth even when that comes at a great personal cost: journalists who dare to speak truth to power, young women who refuse to be silenced. These are the remarkable individuals I have the privilege to represent. Clients like Maria Ressa and Nadia Murad are an inspiration to me. They have endured unimaginable abuse, yet they have chosen not only to rise up for themselves, but to make sure that what has happened to them does not, cannot, happen to others.
Do you have an achievement you are most proud of?
I am proud every time I see an innocent journalist walk free and be reunited with their family. I’ll never forget moments like seeing my client Wa Lone, a courageous reporter for Reuters, walk out of a prison in Myanmar and go home to meet his baby for the first time. I am proud of the moment that my client—a Yazidi woman from Iraq who took on ISIS in court—watched a judge announce a verdict of genocide and sentence the man who killed her daughter to life in prison. I am proud every time one of my students says they feel inspired, and when I meet a young girl who tells me that my work has encouraged her to become an advocate for justice.
How do you manage to juggle work and home life? Is it ever possible to leave the day job at the door and switch off?
Like every working woman, I strive to get the balance right... and never quite manage it! But every day I wake up feeling so lucky to have a husband who I love deeply and could not be more proud of, and children who bring us both so much joy.
What gives you hope for the future?
Leaders with a moral compass and courage give me hope. And my students give me hope. What encourages me most is their determination to be agents of change: they’re not content with observing injustice, and they are not waiting for someone else to step up. Their commitment to building a better world reminds me that change is possible and will be driven by the courage of individuals who reject apathy and decide to make a difference.
The arc of history doesn’t bend toward justice: individuals have to pull it that way. And I think we all have a role to play: politicians, lawyers, journalists in obvious ways; but beyond that also as citizens who vote, and as parents raising the next generation. Because if justice is our common goal, it must also be our common responsibility.