Title: 1) President & Co-Founder; 2) International Human Rights Lawyer
Company: Climate Rights & Justice International
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nesha D. Abiraj, President & Co-Founder at Climate Rights & Justice International and International Human Rights Lawyer, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in the field of international human rights law and nonprofits.
With over 15 years of experience, Ms. Abiraj has built a distinguished career in human rights and nonprofit sectors, specializing in international human rights law. She is currently the president of Climate Rights & Justice International, a 501 (c) (3) Public Charity under US Federal Law. She also serves as an International Human Rights Lawyer. Her experience includes roles as an ambassador on climate justice and human rights with Island Innovation from 2022 to 2024, diplomatic and advocacy liaison for the U.S. and Caribbean with Stop Ecocide International from 2022 to 2023, and senior specialist in policy and advocacy for Save the Children U.S. in Washington D.C. in 2021. From 2019 to 2021, she practiced as an international human rights lawyer, following the successful completion of her fellowship with Human Rights Watch in New York from 2018 to 2019. She served as a lead advocate for UNICEF USA from 2020 to 2024, one of the many voluntary roles she undertook to be an advocate for the promotion and protection of child rights, a cause particularly close to her heart. Her early legal roles include her own private practice as lawyer at Alpha Law Chambers in Trinidad and Tobago from 2011 to 2017, and as an associate attorney-at-law with Dipnarine Rampersad & Company and Lynette Seebaran & Company from 2009 to 2011.
Ms. Abiraj has also contributed extensively to human rights advocacy, policy and research with a focus on the rights of women and girls, through features and published works, including “Advisory Board Spotlight: Nesha Abiraj,” “Voices Reflection: An Advocate’s Journey” for Sahiyo in partnership with The Story Center, to raise awareness of the harmful practice of female genital mutilation and cutting, an internationally recognized human rights violation which has devastating health impacts on women and girls and can even result in serious illness and death. Other publications include “World Human Rights Day: Reimagining Our World with the Hope of a Better Tomorrow” for Paradise Pulse and “Dharti Ma / Mother Nature: Spirituality, Law and Science” for the National Council for Indian Culture in Trinidad & Tobago.
Ms. Abiraj also authored various legal research papers focused on the impact of the climate crisis on the exacerbation of human rights violations and establishing a pathway to international climate justice. Her published works include, “Rights in Crisis: Should ecocide become the 5th International Crime Against Peace?” for the International Bar Association in 2024, “Refugee Rights in the Time of Covid-19” presented at the Commonwealth Lawyers Summit in India in 2023. “Can Criminal Law Aid in the Fight against Climate Change?” published in the Lawyer Legal Journal, “The Air I Breathe: The Right to a Clean Environment” presented at the Commonwealth Lawyers Climate Summit in Malaysia in 2024. She also earned recognition of her work from SWAHA International, Amnesty International, UNICEF USA, and various legal research papers from the International Bar Association and Commonwealth Lawyers Association.
Ms. Abiraj’s work is guided by living a life of service to humanity and as such she also dedicates her time in several volunteer roles including as a member of the U.S. Advisory Board to Sahiyo, a climate reality leader with the Climate Reality Project, a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, as an advocacy lead for UNICEF USA, and a member of the U.S. National Coalition to End Early, Forced, and Child Marriages. She has also dedicated her time to doing humanitarian service in partnership with the Red Cross, local nonprofits such as Equip for Equality, Chicago, and other disaster relief efforts.
In 2023, Ms. Abiraj was featured in the “Trinidad and Tobago Guardian” and has the distinction of being the first person from Trinidad & Tobago to receive both the Schuette Fellowship in Global Health and Human Rights and the Citation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for her tireless work to end early, forced and child marriages in the United States. Her work on child marriage earned recognition from UNICEF USA and was highlighted in Forbes Magazine. She also received a personal letter of gratitude from former President Obama. Other honors include the Pen Toni & James C. Goodale Free Expression Courage Award from Pen America in 2017, recognition as one of the Top 100 Women in the World by Women Who Win, and the prestigious Schuette Fellowship in Global Health and Human Rights which she successfully pursued at the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch (“HRW”).
During her fellowship, at Human Rights Watch, Ms. Abiraj worked with HRW’s Communications and Media Team and Child Rights Division, to create a short video featuring eight graders’ reacting to child marriage being legal in Massachusetts, which earned one million views within the first two weeks of its release on HRW’s collective social media platforms. Also of note during her fellowship, she managed to work with and secure testimony from the Joyful Heart Foundation, founded by actress, activist and advocate Mariska Hargitay, which was submitted to the Massachusetts State House in support of ending early, forced and child marriage.
Ms. Abiraj laid a strong educational foundation with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London in 2007, a licentiate degree from Staffordshire University in 2008, and a Master of Laws in international human rights from Northwestern University in 2018. She is licensed to practice law in Trinidad & Tobago and other applicable Commonwealth countries. Her certifications cover diverse areas, including women’s rights, child rights, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, climate change, justice and human rights, risk management, and strategies for child protection and gender-based violence. Additionally, she is certified in CPR, AED, and first aid by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Ms. Abiraj has earned many awards and accolades throughout her career. She however considers her most significant achievement to be her work in health and human rights in India, where she conducted investigative field research and in so doing worked with child and adolescent survivors of tuberculosis and female tuberculosis survivors on their right to access healthcare and the barriers impeding that right. This experience ignited her love and commitment to human rights advocacy and investigative human rights field research. She credits her success to her support system of family, friends, and mentors, as well as her deep commitment to serving humanity.
In the coming years, Ms. Abiraj plans to continue building on the work of her newly formed nonprofit, Climate Rights & Justice International, (“CRJI”) by continuing her work with her team on interdisciplinary investigative desk and field research and reporting, evidence-based based advocacy and qualitative and quantitative data analysis on the impact of the climate crisis on the exacerbation of human rights violations. The focus of CRJI’s research is geared towards marginalized and vulnerable communities. Her goals also include creating opportunities for educational and career advancement for others as CRJI expands through capacity building and through climate education with CRJI’s soon-to-be-launched Climate Rights Defenders Program. Her goals also include other programmatic priorities of CRJI, which are working towards establishing an international legal pathway for climate refugees to seek asylum, expanding access to climate justice nationally and internationally, and raising awareness of the link between the climate crisis and public health to drive transformative solutions.
Ms. Abiraj has dedicated her life’s work to achieving the vision and mission of Climate Rights and Justice International. Her dedication to promoting and protecting the human rights of all people, and in particular vulnerable and marginalized communities is mirrored in the Organization’s slogan, which was inspired by the qualities of the lotus flower “Overcoming Adversity: A future For All.” Despite its environment of murky and muddy waters, the lotus flower blooms – it is a testament to the power of the strong will, perseverance and propensity to do good which resides in all of us – that even when we feel surrounded by the darkest of circumstances, we can still flourish. Nothing worth fighting for ever comes easy and with purity of heart, mind and good intention, success will follow, despite the challenges along the way.
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