Outreach Director DeAndrea Fuller Judges the Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition

By DeAndrea Fuller

I have volunteered for the American Red Cross since 2017. It is rewarding to combine my deployment experience in Afghanistan and my knowledge as a licensed attorney to teach the American Red Cross International Humanitarian Law courses and serve as a CBC judge. Clara Barton was an educator, Civil War nurse, and the founder of the American Red Cross. Each year, we celebrate her educational roots as well as her neutrality and compassion on the battlefield by educating competitors on IHL. 

This year, amazing university students from Venezuela, Canada, and across the US competed in a variety of simulations to gain the perspectives of think tank talking heads, judge advocates (military attorneys), commanders, detainees, and so much more. The conflict increases in intensity over the course of the competition. 

My favorite aspects of the competition are the media simulation and ICRC interview of detained individuals. In the media simulation, judges are talking heads on news tv shows peppering think tank representatives (competitors) with questions about an ‘ongoing armed conflict’ the writers created in the fact pattern. During the detainee simulation, competitors are ICRC representatives who speak with judges who act as commanders and someone from the opposing country they captured on the battlefield. These are aspects I did not experience in mock trials and moot courts in which I previously participated. Yet, they are valuable experiences for someone interested in the military, law, or international relations. After each simulation, judges with extensive military, legal, and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) experience give feedback to competitors to help them leave with a better understanding of this little-known branch of international law. I am thankful for being asked to return to judge again this year, and I look forward to next year.

DeAndrea Fuller is the Outreach Director at the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Centerstone, Jacksonville, Florida. DeAndrea is a retired Navy Commander and the spouse of a retired Navy Captain. She is a licensed attorney with a bachelor’s degree in Corporate and Organizational Communication, a master’s degree in International Service (International Development Concentration), a J.D., and an LL.M (Environmental Law).

The Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition is a simulation-based, experiential legal competition designed to expose rising professionals to the practice of IHL and to real world challenges facing IHL practitioners during armed conflict. The Competition tests participants’ knowledge of international humanitarian law and public international law, as well as their ability to present, advocate for, and defend legal positions to a diverse range of stakeholders in different simulated environments. 

For more information please visit: https://www.clarabartoncompetition.org/cbc2023