Mikael, Protection Delegate International Committee of the Red Cross

Mikael Maerker has graduated in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action. Coming from Sweden, he is Protection Delegate International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Erbil, Iraq.

What is your role and main responsibilities?

I work with visiting detention facilities to monitor material conditions, implementation of judicial guarantees and assisting detainees to get in contact with their families or embassies. We then raise any potential concerns with the authorities in a confidential dialogue.

The Protection Delegate role encompasses other responsibilities as well depending on the context. I have previously worked with documenting violations of IHL against the civilian population in Gaza and the West Bank as well as implementing livelihood projects. I also have delegate colleagues working with what we call protecting family links which entails all the work we do to locate and/or put people in contact with their lost family members.

How did you secure this role?

The ICRC opens their application for delegates once a year (usually in August/September). At the time, I was working as a United Nations Volunteer in Gaza with UNRWA in their Protection office. I was shortlisted and had to go through language tests for the languages I had listed in my CV and then I had to pass two interviews. After being accepted I have understood that my previous experience in a hardship environment, my nationality and my language skills helped me to be successful with my application. The recruiters look for people that can handle living and working with others in a stressful environment, they prefer nationalities that are not involved in the conflicts where we operate and for many duty stations they require that you speak the language.

What is the most fascinating and/or surprising aspect at your role?

The most fascinating aspect of my job is the access we have to parties to a conflict and/or authorities, even on a Protection Delegate level. As a Protection Delegate I have my interlocutors that I need to build a relationship with, raise issues with and persuade. In many humanitarian organizations that type of dialogue occurs at a very high level but in the ICRC the dialogue occurs at every level. Another amazing thing about my job is when you manage to have a positive impact (and vice-versa it is tough when you do not).

What advice would you give to others?

I liked the range of courses offered at PSIA and the number of courses you got to select for each semester. It allowed me to tailor my education to my interests. I got to deep-dive into topics that interested me but also allowed me to widen my horizons with courses that I maybe would not have selected if we were restricted to fewer courses. Studying different subjects allowed me to feel secure in choosing to start my career in the humanitarian sector. The possibility to do an internship was also very helpful as having work experience allowed me to better compete for jobs post-graduation.

What advice would you give to others?

Most PSIA graduates have work experience from internships and studying abroad which is definitely important. I would like to emphasize the advantages of learning languages. I studied French and Arabic and that has not only helped me to get jobs but more importantly helped me be good at my job. I have a great advantage compared to other colleagues that do not speak the language where we work. You understand the context better, you work more independently and can build stronger professional relationships whether inside or outside the organization.