Filip Hellman

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 8.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The United Nations, international law and related subjects are very important in my life. I spent most of my early childhood in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia due to my father’s job as a Liaison Officer for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He now works at the ICC, while my mother is employed at the IRMCT, the successor body of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals. Due to my parents’ jobs, I have been surrounded with international law my whole life, and I have lived in the “legal capital of the world”, The Hague, since 2008. As time passed, I started to realise my own passion for international law and international relations and I have been able to take this passion forward with support from my school as well as from my parents.</span><br></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b style="text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year when I gained proper understanding of how the MUNISH conference works at our school, I knew that it was exactly what I needed. Together with a friend of mine with similar passion, I contacted the conference director, expressing keenness to get started straight away.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b style="text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The past 2 years have also been the first time that I have developed an enthusiasm to start looking for opportunities myself to be able to move forward with my passion for diplomacy/international relations/international law/UN. The ‘Assembly of States parties of the ICC’ conference this year was an amazing opportunity and the </span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">REDRESS</span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> N.G.O was willing to have me come and help out and be part of the delegation alongside </span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lorraine Smith van der Lin</span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for a few days. I took notes for my supervisor, summarised side-events, listened to speeches etc. and helped out as much as I could. Aside from the work I was doing, I was also able to observe the nature of the event, listen to the General Debate with speeches from ministers and ambassadors, and also meet different people. I was really able to get a feeling of the environment and I was extremely happy with it.</span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In July 2018 I also got the chance to witness a mock trial of the ICC at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style=""></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style=""></p>