As the Harvard Kennedy School Class of 2026 celebrated at their Class Day Awards Ceremony, Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights Faculty Director Mathias Risse challenged them to consider what role they would play in defending human rights at a moment when the movement faces mounting pressures around the world.
"The single most important thing about human rights is that they are for everyone," Risse told graduates. "They need a lot of support to stick around. And they need this support now more than ever."
Reflecting on a world in which human rights organizations face growing attacks and the idea of universalism is increasingly contested, Risse urged graduates not to assume that progress happens on its own.
"I sometimes did have a sense that many of you were hoping the world would somehow mend itself," he said. "But that kind of thing never happens."
Invoking Senator Edward Kennedy's famous words that "the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die," Risse reminded students that such aspirations depend on people willing to act.
"We need such workers, pursuers, embody-ers, and dreamers," he said. "And I very much hope that includes most and ideally all of you."
It was in that spirit that Risse presented the 2026 Carr-Ryan Center Prize for Human Rights, awarded for outstanding Policy Analysis Exercises or Second Year Policy Analyses in human rights to Nathalie Bussemaker MPP 2026 for her Policy Analysis Exercise, "Safe, Dignified, Voluntary, Informed, and Durable? Assessing the Experiences of Syrian Refugees Returning from Lebanon After Assad."
Completed for Human Rights Watch, Bussemaker's PAE examines the experiences of Syrian refugees contemplating return from Lebanon following the fall of the Assad regime and assesses whether those returns meet international standards for being safe, dignified, voluntary, informed, and durable.
In presenting the award, Risse praised the project as "an incisive analysis of the complex situation of Syrian refugees contemplating return home from Lebanon." He noted that Bussemaker had provided Human Rights Watch with "a cogent discussion of historical precedents" as well as "lucid, grounded, and convincing recommendations for action."
Her advisor, Jacqueline Bhabha, similarly commended the work, describing it as "an exemplary piece of work that combines meticulous research, rigorous attention to empirical nuance and compelling argument, with beautifully clear, simple and straightforward writing and a very useful set of perfectly crafted charts and maps."
"In particular, I'm interested in how the legacies of conflict exacerbate inequalities for marginalized groups like women, religious and ethnic minorities, and refugees.
For Bussemaker, the project grew out of a longstanding interest in post-conflict societies and the experiences of displaced populations.
"In particular, I'm interested in how the legacies of conflict exacerbate inequalities for marginalized groups like women, religious and ethnic minorities, and refugees," she said.
The specific focus of the project emerged following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad.
"When the Assad regime fell in December 2024, I was deeply concerned by rhetoric from politicians across the Middle East, Europe, and United States calling for Syrians to return to their home country immediately," Bussemaker said. "Post-conflict transitions are very messy and take time, and putting pressure on Syrians to return before conditions improve is incredibly dangerous."
Working with Human Rights Watch, Bussemaker developed a framework for evaluating refugee return programs by examining historical precedents, conducting interviews with advocates and researchers, and incorporating geospatial analysis and mapping.
"Across the board, I found that returns from Lebanon to Syria cannot yet be described as safe, dignified, voluntary, informed, and durable as defined by UNHCR and HRW in the past," she said.
Looking back on the project, Bussemaker hopes it will be useful not only for understanding Syria but also for evaluating refugee returns in other contexts.
"There are many other countries facing similar dilemmas, and I hope this project can allow both Human Rights Watch and other advocacy organizations to more systematically evaluate whether returns programs abide by international human rights law," she said.
She also hopes policymakers recognize that the end of a conflict does not necessarily mean that conditions are in place for refugees to return safely.
“We cannot expect refugees to return to their home countries as soon as a war is over on paper," she said. "Syria still has a poverty rate of over 90 percent, and there have been spates of violence against minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
At the same time, she emphasized that refugee voices and aspirations must remain central to policy discussions.
"Many refugees do have a deep longing to return home, and human rights advocacy should also never get in the way of allowing refugees to return voluntarily."
Following graduation, Bussemaker will join More in Common as a Senior Research Associate in New York City, where she will conduct mixed-methods research on political polarization in the United States and on public opinion on topics including immigration. Bussemaker said, "There is a lot that we can learn here in the United States from how other countries have healed from deep societal divides and widespread political violence, and I'm looking forward to applying my past international experience to a new domestic lens."
Kyle Faneuff | Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights
