Building Human Rights Leaders: Natika Kantaria’s Fellowship Experience

Natia “Natika” Kantaria (MHR ‘24) fondly remembers following coverage of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly through her childhood. “Someone would come out with a microphone standing in front of the flags reporting on world issues,” she recalls, “and that was the reason why I really wanted to be in the international public.”

Years later, Kantaria herself is now a regular monitor of various human rights bodies of the UN. “When I saw the General Assembly flags… I felt kind of part of it,” she says. “Entering the UN for the first time, it was the step to my childhood dreams.”

Adversity to Advocacy

Witnessing the Russian occupation of her home country of Georgia, and its impact on her family, inspired Kantaria to pursue a career in human rights. “I had exposure to those human rights violations as [Georgians] fled from their homes and territories. That was why I saw myself in human rights advocacy.”

In 2022, Kantaria came to Minnesota to pursue her third master’s degree as a Fulbright Scholar. “I really wanted to be involved in a program that would have an interdisciplinary approach,” she said, “and [the University of Minnesota’s Master of Human Rights] is one of the unique opportunities in the United States.”

Kantaria works to emphasize the importance of global advocacy, demonstrating that building an understanding of international politics can better help the practice of more localized forms of advocacy. “Sometimes we want to focus on narrowing down our scope, which is good, but having some international exposure will give us more understanding and experience.”

Even just advocating for local human rights causes requires an understanding of international politics and vice versa. She hopes that this process of learning can become more widely accessible to students across the world.

Kantaria has been the recipient of many accolades and honors, such as the UMN Sharon Grimes Fellowship for her work in environmental human rights, the Edmund Muskie Professional Fellowship, funded by Cultural Vistas and Global Governance Innovation Fellowship through the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the Stimson Centre and a Fulbright scholarship.

“I felt that despite the diversity the school generates, I could bring a perspective that was unique,” says Kantaria. “There are a lot of opportunities, including the Barbara Frey Fellowship, for students to be more engaged on the international level.”

Shaping Future Leaders

Kantaria was awarded the Barbara Frey Fellowship upon graduating in 2024. Named after longtime Human Rights Program director Barbara Frey, this fellowship supports one year of full-time employment, engagement, and advancement in the field of human rights, helping fresh graduates to put into practice the knowledge they gain through coursework.

As the fourth recipient of the Barbara Frey Fellowship, Kantaria has been chosen to work with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in New York. ISHR is a Geneva-based international organization that protects and promotes human rights, from global systems to the activists themselves. “Human rights defenders also need protection,” Kantaria says.

Kantaria and her colleagues also monitor the human rights developments globally and decisions impacting policies and international human rights law made within the UN. She recently observed the 79th general assembly session, 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII4), and was given the opportunity to closely monitor and observe open negotiations between countries about civil liberties. “What are their human rights priorities, what are their priorities in general, and how do they advocate for them?”

From her experience as a Frey fellow, she’s developed greater skill in advocacy, legal research, UN expertise, and political nuance. “Now I have very different analyses based on the decisions and political acts of different member states,” she says. “Sometimes I was surprised.”

Empowering International Voices

According to Kantaria, one of the unique aspects of the Barbara Frey Fellowship is that it gives students an opportunity to access independent aid, especially international students like herself, who face different regulatory restrictions and challenges.

“It is very important for international students to have this exposure because, financially, I am not attached to the federal foreign aid, but I got sufficient support from the program itself.”

Kantaria notes that programs like these will become especially essential in the coming years, due to the current uncertainty regarding federal foreign aid. “I’m getting independent support from Minnesota and support from the Barbara Frey Fellowship, so that means I’m secured for a year,” she said, “but we don’t know what will happen in the future.”

The role of international students is vital to continuing to have meaningful discussions about human rights. “International students not only gain from the existence of the fellowship, but we also bring our perspectives… we get better results.” Creating more collegiate opportunities similar to the Barbara Frey Fellowship would generate more room for student advocacy, ranging from the local to the global level.

What Happens Next?

Kantaria says she hopes to continue her path of international human rights activism. She will be engaged with the International Service for Human Rights until August, and from there, she says she has a wide variety of human rights avenues to explore and more learning to do. “The knowledge gained… it doesn’t end. It really continues.”

Kantaria wants to encourage others to develop an understanding and appreciation for global politics. “I would call on students to be more active and to use all the possible resources that programs at the University of Minnesota provide, because there are a lot of resources and a lot of support.”

Her unwavering commitment to human rights advocacy, enabled by the unique opportunity of the Barbara Frey Fellowship, marks a decisive start to Kantaria’s career in human rights. Her dedication to the pursuit of knowledge and justice makes her a new generation human rights leader to keep an eye on.

This story was written by Rory Schaefer, an undergraduate student in CLA.