Growing up in Santiago, Chile, Marisol Blanchard decided at an early age that she would spend her life fighting for social justice. Now a successful human rights attorney, she has dedicated her career to defending the human rights of others.

Blanchard’s journey to adulthood occurred during the dictatorship of General Agosto Pinochet, which made her a witness to numerous human rights abuses. Pinochet orchestrated the 1973 military coup d’etat over Salvador Allende, the democratically-elected Socialist Party President. After seizing power, Pinochet ruled as dictator for the next seventeen years, earning notoriety for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering alleged political enemies, as well as for suppressing the human rights of Chilean citizens.

Blanchard, the eldest of eight children, lived her childhood in relative privilege. Her father, an American diplomat, works for the United Nations. Her Chilean-born mother is a successful economist, an editor and newspaper publisher.

“I didn’t live [the dictatorship] the way people in the very poor neighborhoods lived it. They had tanks coming around every day, barricades to protect themselves, police coming in shooting,” she recalled. Still, there were constant reminders of her country’s repressive conditions, including curfews, curtailed personal freedoms and, she recalls vividly, virtually no access to outside communication. “Newspapers weren’t allowed to circulate. Information was controlled by the state. We used to tune [into] one radio [station] and read one newspaper to get information.”

Blanchard attended high school, college and law school in Chile, and left in February 2000 to accept an internship at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, DC. Later that year, she enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where she earned her Master’s in International Human Rights in May 2001.

At Notre Dame, Blanchard learned of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), a Washington-based human rights organization that implements and protects international human rights laws throughout Latin America. CEJIL’s work was a draw for Blanchard, as it supports victims of human rights violations who have no opportunity to seek justice or compensation from their own countries. Its mission mirrored her own passion.

“[CEJIL] had a reputation as a place where people worked hard and did great things,” said Blanchard, who hoped to work on cases relating to freedom of expression and economic, social and cultural rights – the central themes of her master’s thesis.

Because CEJIL lacked the resources to hire new staff, Blanchard proposed applying for a New Voices Fellowship, which, if granted, would fund her position for two years. She was awarded the fellowship and joined CEJIL in June 2001. Blanchard became the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Project Coordinator at CEJIL, a position seemingly tailored to her strengths and interests. In that role, she litigated cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica.

Blanchard’s biggest legal victory at CEJIL came as the lead attorney on El Caracazo, a human rights case involving the massacre of more than 260 civilians in Caracas, Venezuela. Her written arguments before the Court helped secure a $5 million reparations judgment for 43 surviving victims and their families. The Venezuelan government is in the process of compliance.

“That is probably the work I’ve done that I’m most proud of,” she said, smiling.

In addition to her legal success, Blanchard has authored a book: Freedom of Expression and the Inter-American System. Published in September 2003, it reviews jurisprudence relating to freedom of expression in the Americas through the Inter-American Commission and Court.

Blanchard says she “grew immensely” from her New Voices Fellowship, which enabled her to participate in a wide range of activities, including interacting with ambassadors, managing publications and public speaking. These skills, she believes, have prepared her for the challenges that lie ahead.

“The experience I gained at CEJIL was very enriching, and New Voices provided me with that experience,” she said.

After Blanchard’s fellowship ended in June 2003, the Inter-American Commission, impressed with her work, hired her as Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, a position at the right hand of high-ranking officials. While she no longer litigates cases, she plays an integral role in the Commission’s continuing defense of international human rights.

“Before, I presented cases before the Commission. Now, I’m on the other side, deciding,” Blanchard said. “I’m involved in a little bit of everything, from hiring people to defining policies to organizing site visits to overviewing the cases. It’s different, but I like it.”