MILLION BERHE, SECRETARY OF THE COMMISSION

Million is an Eritrean/British lawyer practicing private and public international law in Vienna and since 2016, focusing on arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.  Million’s legal career started in London in 2001 when she joined Clifford Chance, while still a young law student, for their summer internship programme. She subsequently also undertook a second internship with Mason’s Solicitors in 2002. She then worked as a legal consultant on international arbitration with Specht Böhm Rechtsanwalt. In 2017 Million established and headed the first Africa Practice in a Vienna-based law firm, Specht & Partner Rechtsanwalt gmbh. In this role, she was in charge of building the firm's business in Africa, and representing clients from a wide range of sectors. From 2016 to 2020, she also served as Secretary of an Arbitral Tribunal.

Since 2012, Million has been providing pro bono legal assistance and managing a wide range of projects for ONG Gandhi, an organisation based in Italy and Ethiopia that advocates for the rights of refugees and migrants in European and African countries, and combats human trafficking and smuggling of refugees and migrants. In this work, she gathered evidence for the purpose of international investigation into human trafficking in the Horn of Africa and North Africa; monitored and recorded abuse of refugees by organised criminal groups in East Africa, denounced such abuses to the relevant international and national bodies; and raised public awareness of human trafficking issues. 

Million is actively involved in a number of causes, including advocacy work in relation to migration and refugees issues in Europe, Sudan and Ethiopia; serves as board member for ONG Ghandi; and was a volunteer for Amnesty International and several other organisations in London. She also serves as part of a diaspora based committee advising the African Institute of Remittances, an institute established by and part of the African Union.

Million holds an LLB from London South Bank University in the UK; and an LLM in International Trade Law, Contracts & Dispute Resolutions from the University of Turin (a joint program with the International Training Centre ILO, and Institute for European Studies and UNIDROIT). She is also currently in the process of finalizing her studies for an Executive Master’s in International Negotiation and Policy Making from the Graduate Institute Geneva (Geneva Switzerland). Million is fluent in English, Italian, French, Tigrigna (Eritrean), Amharic (Ethiopian), and she has basic knowledge of Spanish and German.

In her capacity as Secretary of the Commission , she has the following roles and responsibilities:

• The Secretary of the Commission is solely responsible to the Independent Special Commission (ISC), reporting to the ISC through the Coordinator of the Commission
• The Secretary of the Commission will support the ISC Commissioners, Coordinator or Chief of Investigations, by providing legal advice, preliminary legal analysis on matters arising from the work of the ISC and the ISC support team.
• The Secretary of the Commission together with the Coordinator serves as advisor to the Commissioners
• The Secretary together with the Coordinator will have access to all information available to the ISC and is responsible for providing necessary support to the Commissioners including in preparing reports, and recommendations
• The Secretary leads, oversees and coordinates the work of the Legal, and General Assistant, of the Database Manager, and others.
• The Secretary of the Commission will undertake external communications with stakeholders and other interested parties at the direction of the Coordinator including:

                        - the General Secretariat of SOS Villages International 

                        - the SOS Children’s Villages member associations;

                        - survivors, accusers, witnesses and their families; 

                        - interested parties including current or former SOS CV staff;

                        - national authorities in local jurisdictions; and

                        - any other stakeholders.

• The Secretary is involved in interviews and meetings with Whistleblowers, Victims and other individuals as required.
• The Secretary of the Commission will work with the Coordinator of the Commission and the Chief of Investigations to ensure that gender and other intersecting inequalities and marginalization are mainstreamed throughout investigation activities, responsive to local cultural contexts.
• The Secretary of the Commission will carry out other tasks as assigned by the Commissioners, and the Coordinator of the Commission.
• The Secretary of the Commission, in consultation with the Coordinator of the Commission and the Chief of Investigations, will ensure that the meetings of the ISC are effectively organised, convened and minuted.
• The Secretary of the Commission will ensure the records, documentation, communications and correspondence of the ISC are kept, stored and maintained in accordance with applicable information management and information sensitivity policies and systems.