Human treaty

Human treaty is part of my ongoing poetry project, ‘Conventions’, in which I cut words out of international treaties, aiming to transform the rigid, formal language of these legal texts into softer, more contemplative pieces. The words for this poem were sourced from the Charter of the United Nations.

It offers a contemplation of my personal experiences with working in the human rights field, by exploring that nagging feeling of resistance to what is not right; that urge to force life to follow the fundamental rights frameworks; the tenseness that this struggle can create inside the human body and the blurring of the boundaries between work and self.

In November 2024, I was named one of the winners of the Poems for Human Rights competition of Utrecht University. I performed this poem at the ‘Impact Night 2024: Human rights, for present and future generations on December 10th, 2024, and it subsequently featured in a traveling exhibition in various libraries.

Human Treaty offers a pointed commentary on the conflict between the ideals of human rights on paper and their implementation in practice. The poem’s interplay of clashing words and punctuation intensifies this confrontation. Its brevity only amplifies its impact, delivering a forceful message with precise, deliberate clarity.

Jury statement