Opening Plenary: Access to Justice for All: Bridging the Justice Gap and Exploring the New Frontiers of Justice in Asia and the Pacific
Session Time and Date
11 November, 9.45-11.00am
Conference Room 2
Concept Summary
The Opening Plenary aims to highlight the key themes that will be featured throughout the Conference, focusing on unpacking the concept of ‘people-centered justice’ and taking stock of emerging justice challenges in the region and how to address them. It focuses on the experience of marginalized communities in accessing justice and how justice systems can deliver just outcomes.
The session will explore trends in the Asia-Pacific region and globally, where the justice gap remains wide, with billions unable to access the legal remedies they need for issues impacting their lives, families, and communities. Concerns over effective functioning of the judiciary and judicial independence are prevalent themes across many countries in the region, undermining rule of law and human rights. Environmental and climate justice is an area of increasing concern, disproportionately affecting marginalized populations, including women, indigenous groups, displaced persons, and those in rural or economically disadvantaged areas, further entrenching cycles of poverty, exclusion, and violence. Ensuring gender justice including women’s access to justice, ensuring women’s representation in the justice system as well as promoting rights of LBGBTIQ+ populations, are persistent challenges. The use of data, technology and innovation has much to offer in terms of new strategies but also comes with its own risks.
This session is designed to respond to the pressing need to bridge the justice gap in Asia and the Pacific by exploring innovative, people-centered justice solutions and emerging practices in the region.
Objectives
The opening plenary session will set the stage by:
1. Emphasizing ‘people-centered justice’ can help address some of the systemic inequlaities an injustices in the region, and contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
2. Highlighting the key trends in the region, including barriers to justice faced by marginalized communities, and urgency of addressing the significant justice gap in the region.
3. Outlining innovative pathways to make justice systems more inclusive, evidence-based, and responsive to the daily challenges faced by individuals, particularly those facing intersecting vulnerabilities.
Speakers
· Prof. Emeritus Vitit Muntarbhorn, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia
· Ms. Tripti Tandon, Deputy Director, the Lawyers Collective, India
· Mr. Roberto Cadiz, Founding President, Climate Action and Human Rights Institute, The Philippines
· Ms. Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Director of Law Division, United Nations Environment Programme ·
· Dr. Phiset Sa-ardyen, Executive Director, Thailand Institute of Justice
Moderator: Aparna Basnyat, Rule of Law, Human Rights and Security Programme Advisor, UNDP
Format/Methodology
Panel Discussion (60 minutes): An interactive Q&A segment and Group Discussion session.
Speakers and Moderator
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Patricia Kameri-Mbote
Director of Law Division, United Nations Environment Programme
Patricia has in-depth knowledge and experience in environmental law acquired at local, national, regional, and international levels. She has consulted for UNEP in the review of programmes, legal instruments, and the rules of engagement of major groups. She has been engaged in the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme since 2007 and is a member of the Governing Board of the International Council on Environmental Law (ICEL).
Patricia is a member of the Senior Counsel Bar in Kenya and has been a Professor of Law at the School of Law, University of Nairobi, where she has taught for over 30 years and served as Dean. She has also taught environmental law at Kansas University, University of Zimbabwe and Stellenbosch University. She served as chair of the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers in African Universities, and has contributed to the development of similar initiatives for North Africa and Middle East and for judges.
Patricia holds doctorate (1999) and Masters’ (1996) degrees in law from Stanford University and a higher doctorate from the University of Nairobi (2019). She also holds a Masters’ degree from Warwick University (1989) and was awarded an honorary degree in law by the University of Oslo (UiO) in 2017.
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Dr. Phiset Sa-ardyen
Executive Director, Thailand Insitute of Justice
Dr. Phiset began his career as a lecturer at the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University. He later changed course and joined the Department of Special Investigation, Ministry of Justice, as a special case inquiry officer in 2005.
He later served in several management positions at the Ministry of Justice including the Director of International Affairs, and the Director of Legal Affairs at the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Justice.
During 2014-2018, through the secondment to work for TIJ, Dr. Phiset served as the Director of External Relations and Policy Coordination before returning to the Ministry of Justice to serve as the Director of Information and Communication Technology Center.
Dr. Phiset has been appointed the Executive Director of the Thailand Institute of Justice since 25 February 2021.
Dr. Phiset received his B.Eng. degree in bio-engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, and pursued his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at New York University, USA. He also has an M.A. degree in translation and interpretation from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and a B.L. degree in law from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand.
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Atty. Roberto Cadiz
Founding President of CAHRI
Atty. Roberto Cadiz is the founding President of CAHRI. As former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP), he chaired its National Inquiry on Climate Change (NICC) and penned its Report, which sought to establish the nexus between climate change and human rights and the obligations of parties in relation thereto. Prior to his appointment to the CHRP, Commissioner Cadiz was a private law practitioner, specializing in litigation, where he also co-counseled in judicial reform and public interest cases.
He also served as Executive Director of a lawyers’ NGO, where he managed or supervised projects funded by international institutions, such as the USAID, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and the United Nations Development Program. Among the partners in the projects he managed
were the Philippine Supreme Court, the Department of Education, and the Commission on Elections.
His previous affiliations and advocacies include leading a campaign finance monitoring consortium, chairmanship of a transparency and accountability network of NGOs, and co-convention of a Supreme Court appointments watch consortium. He obtained his degrees in Law and Philosophy from the University of the Philippines.
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Tripti Tandon
Deputy Director, The Lawyers Collective
Tripti Tandon is a New Delhi based lawyer and Deputy Director with the Lawyers Collective, one of the oldest human rights organisation in India.
In her over 15 years of association with the Lawyers Collective, Tripti has spearheaded the work on HIV, law and criminalisation, more specifically on drug policy and human rights. She mounted the constitutional challenge to the mandatory death penalty for repeat drug offences, initiated litigation for evidence based and human rights compliant drug dependence treatment and more recently, drafted legal amendments to enable access to essential narcotic drugs. All of her work is reflected in the changes to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, which the Indian Parliament adopted in 2014.
Aparna Basnyat
(Moderator)
Rule of Law, Human Rights and Security Programme Advisor, UNDP
Aparna Basnyat is the Programme Advisor for Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights with the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub. She leads regional initiatives on people-centred justice and security, judicial integrity and effectiveness, and business and human rights and advises country programming on access to justice and human rights for the Asia Pacific region. Previously she worked with UNDP at the global level on governance and SDG 16 research and data analytics as well as on rule of law and human rights policy and programming.
Prof. Emeritus Vitit Muntarbhorn
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia
Vitit Muntarbhorn is a Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. He is a graduate of Oxford University (M.A.,B.C.L. (Oxon.)) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (Licence Speciale en Droit Europeen (Brux.)). He is also a Barrister at Law (the Middle Temple, London). He teaches International Law, Human Rights and related subjects. He has held a number of UN posts, in particular the following: UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography; UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; UN Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. He was the Chairperson of the UN appointed Commission of Inquiry on the Ivory Coast (2011) and a member of the UN appointed Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. In 2021, he was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia by the UN Human Rights Council.