Human Rights, the Sustainable Development Goals & the Law: International Legal Symposium | Friday, 15 May 2020
As countries consider new policies and laws for post-pandemic recovery which can advance the global SDGs, informed dialogue among experts, academics and practitioners, building skills in rights-based approaches and engaging SDG-focused institutions, offers a key opportunity for learning and impact.
The 2020 Online International Symposium on Human Rights, the SDGs & the Law convenes leading experts in human rights, the SDGs and related fields with emerging scholars to chart a way forward that bridges the gaps in research and practice.
Co-hosted by the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and the Centre International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), in partnership with the University of Montreal Law Faculty, the University of Waterloo School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), the University of Chile Law Faculty, the University of Costa Rica Law Faculty, the International Law Association of Canada, the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law (MJSDL), Canada’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network and other world-class universities and institutions, this one-day online symposium activates opportunity for impact.
Programme
Welcome & Opening Plenary
Chairs: Prof. François Crépeau (Director, CHRLP / Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, McGill University) & Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger (Senior Director, CISDL / Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor, University of Cambridge / Professor of Law, University of Waterloo)
Welcomes: Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan (Chair, CISDL Board of Governors / Law & Policy Director, Amnesty International); Dean Jean Andrey (Dean, University of Waterloo / Chair, Sustainable Development Solutions Network of Canada); Prof. Christina Voigt (Professor, University of Oslo / Chair, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Climate Change Specialist Group); Prof. Alexandra Harrington (Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance, Balsillie School of International Affairs BSIA / Research Director, CISDL); Adv. Bernard Colas (Partner, Colas Moreira Kazandjian Zikovsky; former President, International Law Association of Canada ILA); Maitre Pierre Gonthier (Chair, Hon Justice CD Gonthier Memorial Lectures Committee).
Keynote Addresses
Prof. David Boyd (United Nations UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights & the Environment / Assoc. Professor, University of British Columbia)
Dr. Catarina de Albuquerque (Chief Executive Officer, Sanitation & Water for All / former UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Water & Sanitation, Chair of UN Working Group on Optional Protocol to ICESCR)
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I Advancing Post-Pandemic Justice, Governance & Partnership – SDG 16 & 17
Chairs: Prof. Alexandra Harrington (Lead Counsel & Research Director, CISDL / Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance) & Ms. Janet McIntyre (Director of Access to Justice Secretariat, Justice Canada)
Keynote: Prof. Payam Akhavan (Professor, McGill University / Member, Permanent Court of Arbitration)
Speakers: Dr. Neshan Gunasekera (Coordinator, UNDP Sri Lanka); Prof. Emily Reid (Southampton Law School, University of Southampton): Prof. Sumudu Atapattu (Director of Research Centers and Senior Lecturer University of Wisconsin Law School, by film) & Intervenors: Prof. Ilaria Espa (Asst. Professor, Università della Svizzera italiana / Senior Research Fellow, World Trade Institute (WTI) / Adj. Professor, University of Milan); Dr. Henry Lovat (Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Research Fellow, University of Glasgow).
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II Addressing Rights, Poverty & Disabilities – SDGs 1, 8 & 11
Chairs: Prof. Sebastien Jodoin (Asst. Professor, McGill University / Canada Research Chair in Human Rights & Environment) & Prof. Nandini Ramanujam (Executive Director, CHRLP / Assoc. Professor, McGill University)
Speakers: Prof. Nandini Ramanujam (Executive Director, CHRLP / Assoc. Professor, McGill University); Dr. Yolanda Muñoz (Senior Research Associate, Canada Research Chair in Human Rights & Environment); Ms. Perpetua Senkoro (Researcher / O’Brien Fellow, McGill University); Ms. Nilani Ananthamoorthy (Research Associate, Canada Research Chair in Human Rights & Environment) & Intervenors: Adv. Alexander Agnello (Policy Analyst, Office of the Ombudsperson, British Columbia); Mr. Jorge Caicedo (Researcher, McGill Faculty of Law Rule of Law and Economic Development Research Group).
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III Designing Post-Pandemic Rights-Based Approaches to Paris Agreement Implementation – SDGs 7 & 13
Chairs: Prof. Christina Voigt (Full Professor of Public and International Law, University of Oslo / Chair of the IUCN WCEL´s Specialist Group on Climate Change) & Adv. Ayman Cherkaoui (Lead Counsel, CISDL / Obama Fondation Africa Leader)
Speakers: Prof. Lynda Collins (Full Professor, University of Ottawa Common Law Section); Prof. Cristina Redko (Assoc. Professor & Center for Global Health Director, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine); Prof. Damilola Olawuyi (Assoc. Professor, Hamad Bin Kalifa University / Legal Fellow, CISDL); Adv. Erick Kassongo (Director, Centre Congolais pour le Développement Durable (CODED) & Intervenors: Prof. David Boyd (United Nations UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights & the Environment / Assoc. Professor, University of British Columbia); Dr. Saleemul Huq (Senior Fellow, Climate Change, International Institute for Environment and Development); Dr. Cosmin Correndea (Professor, O.P. Jindal Global University / Senior Legal Research Fellow, CISDL); Dr. Idil Boran (Assoc. Professor, York University / Ass. Researcher German Development Institute).
Closing Remarks: Adv. Hafijul Islam Khan (Co-coordinator, Loss and Damage Team, UNFCCC LDCs Group / Centre for Climate Justice-Bangladesh (CCJ-B) / Researcher, University of Waterloo)
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IV Devising Post-Pandemic Rights-Based Approaches to Global Health & Gender – SDGs 3 & 5 (ZR Cambridge)
Chairs: Prof. Maya Prabhu (Assoc. Professor, Yale School of Medicine /Yale Center for Asylum Medicine / Yale Institute for Global Health/Lead Counsel, CISDL) & Dr. Oonagh Fitzgerald (Member of the Board, ILA-Canada / Co-Chair of Canadian Environmental Domestic Advisory Group under the CETA)
Speakers Prof. Steven Hoffman (Dahdaleh Distinguished Chair in Global Governance & Legal Epidemiology / Professor, York University); Prof. Francois Crépeau (Director, CHRLP / Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, McGill University); Ms. Ghazaleh Jerban (Research Fellow, Trade Facilitation Office of Canada OpenAIR / Queen Elizabeth Scholar); Ms. Christina Beninger (Researcher, University of Cape Town). Dr. Basil Ugochukwu (Fellow, CIGI) & Intervenors Prof. Alexandra Harrington (Lead Counsel & Research Director, CISDL / Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance); Kate Burrows, (Researcher, Yale University) and National Geographic Explorer; Roojin Habibi (Researcher, York University).
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Plenary II – Keynote Addresses
Chairs: Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan (Chair, CISDL Board of Governors / Director, Amnesty International) & Prof. Susan Breau (Dean, University of Victoria Faculty of Law)
Hon. Minister David Lametti (Minister of Justice, Government of Canada)
Prof. John Knox (Full Professor, Wake Forest Law / former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment)
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V Structuring Rights-Based Trade, Investment & Financial Rules for Economic Recovery – SDGs 9, 10 & 11
Chairs: Dr. Markus Gehring (Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge / Lead Counsel, CISDL) & Dr. Wayne Garnons-Williams (Chair, Inter-Tribal Trade & Investment Organization & Principal, Garwill)
Speakers: Prof. Avidan Kent (Assoc. Professor, University of East Anglia, UK); Dr. Maria Panezi (Asst. Professor, University of New Brunwick); Dr. James Collard (Economic Planning Director, Citizen Potawatomi Nation); Dr. Marsha Cadogan (Principal, MSC Intellectual Property and Technology Law) & Intervenors: Prof. Alexander Ezenagu (Asst. Professor, Hamad bin Khalifa University); Mr. Sean Stephenson (Senior Assoc, Dentons); Dr. Ksenia Polonskaya (Researcher, Queens University); Mr. Marios Tokas (Programme Coordinator, CISDL & Researcher, Graduate Institute Geneva); Dr. James Hopkins (Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Arizona/former Chief Justice of the Pascua Yaqui Court of Appeals).
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VI Securing Co-Benefits of Human Rights, Biodiversity & Freshwater Ecosystems Protections – SDG 15 & 6
Chairs: Prof. Jorge Cabrera (Professor, University of Costa Rica / Lead Counsel, CISDL) & Mr. Freedom-Kai Phillips (Researcher, University of Cambridge /Operations Director, CISDL)
Speakers: Mr. Gaute Voigt-Hanssen (CBD Head of Delegation & Senior Advisor, Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment); Mr. Tim Scott (Senior Policy Advisor, UNDP); Dr. Balakrishna Pisupati (Chairperson, FLEDGE); Prof. Robert Kibugi (Professor, University of Nairobi / Legal Research Fellow, CISDL); Dr. Claudia Ituarte-Lima (Senior Researcher, Raoul Wallenberg Institute on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law / Research Fellow, Stockholm University) & Intervenors: Elizabeth Mrema (Acting Executive-Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity); Prof. Erin Daly (Professor, Widener University, Delaware Law School); Ms. Ana Barreira (Director, Instituto Internacional de Derecho y Medio Ambiente); Ms. Danting Fan (Researcher, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law).
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VII Empowering Children’s Voices & Quality Education – SDG 4 & SDG 17
Chairs: Hon. Marcel Szabo (Justice, Constitutional Court of Hungary/former Hungarian Ombudsman of Future Generations) & Dr. Gabrielle Sacconaghi Bacon (Goodwill Ambassador, UNESCO Voices of Future Generations Childrens Rights Initiative VoFG)
Moderators: Adv. Sarah Sanders (Editor, VoFG) / Dr. Odeeth Lara Morales (Coordinator, VoFG)
Special Film: The Voices of Future Generations Childrens’ Rights Initiative
Child Authors: Ms. Andrea Wilson (VoFG Child Author & Scholar, USA); Miss Rehema Kibugi (VoFG Child Author & Scholar, Kenya); Miss Christina-Angelina Kassongo (VoFG Child Author & Scholar, Democratic Republic of Congo); Master Jasper Chin Moody (VoFG Child Author & Scholar, Australia); Master Nico Roman (Co-Chair, Cambridge Schools Eco-Council, VoFG Child Ambassador & Scholar, UK / Canada / Switzerland).
Speakers: Prof. Kirsten Sandberg (Full Professor, University of Oslo / former Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child); Dr. Sandor Szemesi (Chief Counselor, Constitutional Court of Hungary); Prof. Sebastien Jodoin (Asst. Professor, McGill University / Chapter Author, ‘Children’s Rights and Sustainable Development: Interpreting the UNCRC for Future Generations’ Cambridge University Press, 2019).
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VIII Promoting Indigenous Rights, Identity & Food Security – SDGs 2 & 14
Chairs: Hon. Judge Sebastien Grammond (Justice, Federal Court of Canada / former Dean, University of Ottawa Civil Law Section) & Prof. Konstantia Koutouki (Professor, University of Montreal, Lead Counsel, CISDL, President, ILA-Canada)
Special Guest Speaker: Ms. Adelyn Sophie (Child Author, VoFG & Scholar, Canada)
Speakers M. Sarah Mainville (Partner, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP); Ms Tara Dawn Atleo (Researcher, University of Waterloo, SEED) & Prof. Alexandra R. Harrington (Lead Counsel & Research Director, CISDL / Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance); Prof. Sharaban Tahura Zaman (Lecturer, Department of Law, North South University, Bangladesh/Senior Research Fellow, Center for Climate Justice- Bangladesh); Prof. Priscilla Settee (Professor, University of Saskatchewan) & Intervenors: Ms. Claire Perttula (Researcher, Balsillie School of International Affairs); Ms. Darlene Coyle (Researcher, SEED, University of Waterloo).
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Plenary III – Closing International Experts Roundtable
Chairs: Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger (Senior Director, CISDL / Professor, University of Waterloo / Leverhulme Visiting Professor, University of Cambridge) & Rt Hon. Judge Prof. Nico Schrijver (Full Professor, Leiden University / Member, Permanent Court of Arbitration & former President, Institut de Droit International & International Law Association)
Launch of HE Judge CG and Rosemary Weeramantry International Law and Sustainable Development Global Fellowship / Celebration of HE Justice CG Weeramantry International Justice Awards, with Prof. Romesh Weeramantry (Adj Professor, Singapore Management University / Counsel, Clifford Chance Asia, by film).
Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger of Canada, the UK and Switzerland, Advocate Neshan Gunasekera of Sri Lanka & Hon Justice Professor Marcel Szabo of Hungary have been named as the distingusied global winners of the Weeramantry International Justice Award in honor of His Excellency Judge CG Weeramantry. Click here to learn more.
Interactive Dialogue with Chairs of International Experts Panels:
(Q 1) Prof. Alexandra Harrington, Prof. Maya Prabhu, Dr. Gabrielle Sacconaghi Bacon & Dr. Wayne Garnons-Williams; (Q 2) Hon Judge Sebastien Grammond, Prof. Christina Voigt, Dr. Markus Gehring & Mr. Freedom-Kai Phillips; (Q 3) Ms. Janet McIntyre, Prof. Jorge Cabrera, Prof. Sebastien Jodoin & Adv Ayman Cherkaoui.
Closing Remarks: Prof. François Crépeau (Director, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, McGill University).
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Online symposium outline available here HR SDGs the Law 2020 CISDL-CHRLP Symposium Outline – 13 05 2020
Full symposium program available here HR SDGs the Law 2020 CISDL-CHRLP Global Symposium Full Programme – Subject to Change
