October 23, 2020

Congratulations to alumna Dylan O'Donoghue (MLS '19), selected as a winner and panelist for the 3rd Annual UN Youth Human Rights Challenge!

The Human Rights Youth Challenge was developed to engage youth in raising awareness of the human rights to water and sanitation, and bringing innovative ideas to support the water and sanitation sector. Organized by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation, this competition invited persons aged 24-32 years old to submit essays around the theme of “private actor participation,” responding to a case study related to for-profit organizations providing water and sanitation services. From a total of 33 qualified submissions, 4 were selected, including Dylan's. The 4 winners went on to speak as panelists at an online event in mid-October organized by the UN Special Rapporteur.

Dylan's submission for this challenge is a case study of labor abuses to migrant fishermen to Taiwan who typically hail from Indonesia, The Philippines, and Vietnam. She studied how abusive employers in the fishing industry fail to uphold employee rights to water and sanitation. When fishermen in this study raise concerns to their employers about water or sanitation facilities, employers and the brokers who represent fishermen use repressive tactics to silence the fishermen. As a result, these fishermen are forced to stay with their employers against their will and are continuously denied water and sanitation access.


Dylan O'Donoghue completed her Master’s in Legal Studies at Drexel University's Kline School of Law as well as a graduate certificate in Issues in Human Trafficking. Her research interests focus on immigration, immigration in employment law, and anti-human trafficking regulations. In the International Human Rights Advocacy and Practice course at the Kline School of Law, Dylan conducted a report on the human rights violations of homeless youth who are victims of human trafficking. The report was published on the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ website. Dylan previously worked at Drexel University as the Assistant Director of Foreign Nationals at the International Students and Scholars Services office.

You can read Dylan's essay and learn more about the 3rd Annual UN Youth Human Rights Challenge here!