Salina Kafle, a student in the LL.M. Program in International Human Rights Law, is a dedicated human rights lawyer and the executive director of the Human Rights and Justice Centre in Nepal. She is committed to advancing justice and human rights, focusing on issues such as torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings in Nepal. But Kafle’s impact extends beyond Nepal—she is also a key participant in global forums focused on regional peace, one of the most prominent being the Salzburg Global Asia Peace Innovators Forum.
In February 2025, Kafle took part in the Asia Peace Innovators Forum Project Acceleration Workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a program organized by Salzburg Global. This dynamic four-day workshop brought together 25 fellows from across Asia, each working on peace-related projects in their home countries. The workshop’s goal was to provide fellows with the tools, mentorship, and strategies they need to refine and advance their initiatives, fostering meaningful collaborations across sectors.
Kafle’s working group, which included professionals from countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and a mentor from Spain, focused on access to legal aid for marginalized youth in Asia. Kafle and her fellow participants worked to design strategies that would improve access to legal aid, ensuring that youth activists in Asia could receive the legal representation they need to protect their rights.
Her work at the forum was not just about addressing the immediate needs of youth in Asia, but also about fostering long-term solutions for regional peace and justice. The fellows collaborated intensively with mentors and peers, refining their projects and developing actionable plans for outreach to potential partners, funders, and other stakeholders who could support their initiatives. For Kafle, this workshop was a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and peacebuilders from across Asia and beyond, learning from their experiences and sharing her own expertise on human rights and legal advocacy.
Reflecting on her experience, Kafle shared, “This was an incredible platform, bringing together professionals from diverse fields to collaborate on a shared mission. It fostered meaningful connections and allowed us to build upon each other’s ideas in impactful ways. I am deeply grateful to Professor Diane Desierto and Notre Dame Law School for their unwavering support.”
As a Salzburg Global Fellow, Kafle is part of a network that spans the globe, creating opportunities for continued collaboration and exchange of ideas. Her participation in the Asia Peace Innovators Forum is a key example of how Salzburg Global’s initiatives empower individuals like Kafle to drive change in their communities.
Kafle’s work in Sri Lanka is just one step in her larger mission to promote human rights and justice. As she continues her studies at Notre Dame Law School, she remains a committed advocate for the rights of marginalized groups, both in Nepal and in the broader region. She recently co-led a Human Rights Lunch-n-Learn with her classmate in the LL.M. program. The Lunch-n-Learn, organized by the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights, addressed the issue of forced disappearances in Mexico and Nepal. Through such opportunities, Kafle is not only advancing her own work, but also contributing to the collective effort to build a more peaceful and just world.
