Member Spotlights: Silvia Serna Román

Interview by Geoffrey Borabien 

This blog captures the second interview in our new series – Member Spotlights – highlighting the essential work the Council does to promote the rights of refugees and migrants across the world. 

This week, we interviewed our team member, Silvia Serna. Silvia is our regional litigator for Central America & Mexico, who is also currently covering the South America & Caribbean region. Born and raised in Mexico City, Silvia comes from a family of lawyers and war refugees, which sparked her interest in the defense of human rights. She joined the Council with a wide range of experience, including at the Human Rights Unit of the Interiors Ministry and more recently, as part of Asylum Access México. Silvia believes in an inclusive society and is passionate about human rights – read on to find out more.

To review highlights from the interview, check out our Instagram @global-council or keep reading for the full transcript.

Interview Transcript

Could you briefly describe what you do? 

Silvia: My name is Silvia, and I’m the Regional for Mexico and Central America for the Global Strategic Litigation Council. That means I coordinate the efforts of the Council in the region which includes facilitating collaboration between our members, finding out what their needs are and what they’re working on. If that will impact the rights of refugees and displaced people around the region or around the world, we usually try to get involved wherever possible, and wherever we can by adding some value and guidance for example. That’s a general overview of what regional litigators do in the Council. 

What brought you to become a litigator focused on human rights or migrants and climate justice?

Silvia: I’ve always been drawn to social issues and social justice ever since I was very young. It was always very obvious to me the disparity and the inequity around me in my country and in my context, and that eventually took me to study law. Once I started my official law career, I decided I was going to focus on human rights. There wasn’t any other area that I was interested in. So I started from the beginning of my career, and I started working for the government. There are several ways you can make an impact on humans and I eventually went on to work for civil society, especially for refugees and displaced people, which brought me to the Global Strategic Litigation Council.

Two things drew me to the Council: I had a background, and I had already worked with civil society in Mexico, so I knew how that worked and had insights from my own experience working in civil society in the region. The Global Strategic Litigation Council presented an opportunity to translate that into a global community which I think is very important in Mexico and in Central America where we are sometimes very focused on our own countries and our own problems. Sometimes I feel like if legal problems are seen from a different perspective, better solutions or more creative solutions can come about. And that is what the Global Strategic Council brings to the table.

The second thing is the team that works at the Goal Strategic Council. I met them before I worked officially for the Council and they are people I really admire, and so working with them has really impacted me professionally and it has brought me closer to the issues that I’m really passionate about. 

Are there any recent successes that you would want to share?

Silvia: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration, which several Latin American states signed back in the 1980s. The goal was to enhance refugee protections in our region since the Geneva Convention’s definition of a refugee didn’t fully address the unique challenges here. At that time, social movements led to significant displacement, and countries came together to discuss what “refugee” meant in our context and how best to protect those migrating within Latin America.

It’s also important to mention that the Cartagena Declaration is a non-binding document, so countries can choose whether to follow it, as there’s no legal mechanism to enforce it. However, we still face challenges: crises continue across the region, and not all affected populations are protected. Climate change, for example, is becoming a displacement issue, though many don’t yet see it that way. Increasingly, people are forced to leave their countries as their livelihoods are threatened.

The Declaration’s 40th anniversary is a special opportunity for states and civil society to revisit it, and to that end, our team and I wrote a blog to highlight its importance and the chance it offers to advance the rights of refugees and migrants here in Latin America.

In line with what the Declaration stands for, our organization has supported several cases. Recently, we worked on a case in Venezuela, where the Colombian government suddenly invalidated the identity documents of Colombian-Venezuelan nationals. Without warning, these people lost their government-issued IDs, effectively becoming stateless overnight.

Another recent intervention we made was through an amicus brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in response to a request by Chile and Colombia. They sought an advisory opinion on how principles of human rights should be interpreted in the context of climate change, particularly regarding displaced populations. The advisory opinion is meant to clarify what obligations governments have as climate change increasingly affects human rights, especially for those who are forced to leave their countries because of it. If we think about refugees as people in need of protection, then those displaced by climate change face a similar situation—they can no longer safely stay in their homes due to environmental threats.

How do you think the Council can support its members in relation to litigation and advocacy?

Silvia: As I mentioned, the Cartagena Declaration is a non-binding document, which means each country decides how it will apply the Declaration within its own jurisdiction. This can sometimes lead to discriminatory practices in its application, or countries that haven’t signed on might choose not to adopt it at all.

Our Council’s goal in the region is to identify cases being litigated that align with the Declaration’s principles and advocate for its more protective definition of “refugee” to be applied over the Geneva Convention’s definition. By finding these cases and urging the courts to apply the Declaration’s standards, we work to ensure stronger protections for refugees in Latin America.

What do you think is next for the region?

Silvia: Latin America has a history of being welcoming to refugees and people displaced within the region and from all over the world. We saw this after World War II, and that’s partly why the Cartagena Declaration came to be. People were fleeing their countries, and here, we all speak the same language and share similar cultures. This commonality makes it easier for people to imagine rebuilding their lives in a place where they at least know the language. That’s something I’ve seen often in my work.

Looking ahead, I think it’s essential for the region to recognize our flaws and acknowledge that there’s no place for racism or xenophobia in Latin America. We all come from similar backgrounds, we want the same things, and many of us have been in the same precarious situations. No one is more deserving than anyone else; we all need and deserve the same things. Basic human dignity and decency dictate that we help people wherever we can, and I truly believe that Latin Americans know and understand this, even if it can be challenging at times.

If you could give one message or piece of advice to global society from your experience, defending migrants in your region, what would it be?

Silvia: My advice is to listen to the people at the forefront of the crisis. They know what they need, and they know what they’re fighting for. Governments and lawyers should always have in mind.