Korey Silverman-Roati ’17 in Tarkwa, Ghana

My work in Accra started with a research project into international, regional, and local (Ghana) human rights issues in mining communities. I shadowed the work of one of CEPIL’s lawyers, and accompanied him to court as he litigated several cases, which included several wrongful terminations of employment and a land acquisition compensation case. Over the course of these court appearances I got to know several of the plaintiffs, discussed strategy with the CEPIL lawyer, and learned some of the challenges of litigating in Ghana.

I then began work on a research project in CEPIL’s case against the Ghana Gas Company. I researched cases in the U.S., and U.S. case law on adequate compensation, and traveled to the Western Region to view the case in court and get feedback from some of the plaintiffs.

I’ve also been gathering feedback from former recipients of CEPIL’s public interest work. This included a trip to Tarkwa, also in the Western Region, to four different mining communities for which CEPIL has provided pro bono litigation services.