PAST EVENTS
The climate crisis. The digital revolution. Persistent inequality and discrimination.
SMALL STATES ACCESS TO JUSTICE | 15 NOVEMBER 2023 | LONDON
In addressing these complex challenges, small states must engage in a thoughtful reimagination of their approach to access to justice, one that takes into account their unique circumstances and leverages innovative solutions to ensure that all citizens can access legal remedies and protections.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, the Institute of Small and Micro States (ISMS), and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) are delighted to invite you to an all-day event on small states and access to justice.
https://www.wilmerhalecommunications.com/56/5978/landing-pages/guest-rsvp.asp
Webinar ‘Promoting the rule of law in Commonwealth Small States during COVID-19’
The webinar is available to watch on the Commonwealth website: https://thecommonwealth.org/rule-law-webinar-6-promoting-rule-law-commonwealth-small-states-during-covid-19.
Invitation to Virtual Talanoa
Wednesday 30 September, 11am-1pm (NZT), or Thursday 1 October, 2pm-4pm (NZT)
Warm greetings to HRMI friends in the Pacific,
Thank you for your support, input, and partnership over the last year as we have worked together to produce useful human rights measurement data about the experiences of people in the Pacific.
As you know, since our first co-design workshop in August 2019 in Auckland, we piloted a specialist part of our human rights survey, called the 'Pacific Module', and published summaries of the findings in a report (available on our website). We also published human rights metrics for up to 13 rights on our Rights Tracker, for 20 Pacific countries.
We were delighted to announce earlier this year that two excellent Pacific researchers have now taken roles to guide the future development of the Pacific Module.
Our new Pacific Data Co-Leads, Seuta'afili Dr Patrick Thomsen and Dr Sam Manuela, are now inviting Pacific people interested in human rights to join a Virtual Talanoa on human rights in Pacific countries.
These are some of our commitments in how we work: 'By the Pacific, for the Pacific, with the Pacific' and 'Nothing for us without us'. These Virtual Talanoa are an opportunity for Pacific people to shape how we collect Pacific human rights information.
We invite you to share your ideas and wisdom so together we can build appropriate human rights tools that are unique and specific to our region.
Join the Talanoa
If you would like to be part of this, please register using this form:
https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/virtual-talanoa/
For further information, you are welcome to download our 2020 report: Human Rights Across the Pacific, and explore the human rights data we have so far, for 20 Pacific countries, on our Rights Tracker.
About HRMI's Pacific Data Co-Leads
Dr Sam Manuela
Sam is a Kūki ‘Āirani (Cook Islands) researcher and lecturer based in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. Sam’s current research focuses on knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about mental health, and he is in the process of developing a study identifying the prevalence of mental illness in the Cook Islands. Sam’s interests in HRMI relate to his passion for seeing Pacific realities reflected in the quantitative research and ensuring high quality data benefits Pacific communities.
Seuta'afili Dr Patrick Thomsen
Patrick is a Samoan researcher and lecturer based at the University of Auckland, with an interdisciplinary background in Pacific and international studies, gender and GLBT studies, politics, development and human rights. He is the Principal Investigator for the Manalagi Project, New Zealand’s first health and wellbeing project for Pacific Rainbow and Queer communities, which will also look at how human rights frames are being used by practitioners and activists in this space. His interests with HRMI relate to his goal of helping to develop a culturally-sensitive and Pacific-inclusive measure that understands the diversity of realities for Pacific human rights practitioners in the region.
Government Financing: how to assist in reducing poverty and potential pitfalls
28 September 2020, 4.00-5.00pm (BST)
A webinar presented by the IBA Poverty and Social Development Committee
This webinar intends to address the increasing concerns of the impact of the pandemic on the first goal of the Sustainable Development Goals; end poverty in all its forms everywhere.
In the time of Covid-19 it is increasingly important to discuss what can governments do in order to reduce poverty levels, which are expected to increase significantly due to the effects on the pandemic.
Topics will include:
Why do governments need to access financing?
How governments finance themselves - official and private sectors
Is there a real need for more debts?
Recent scandals
Transparency
Due process (law and economics analysis, and so on)
The rule of law (fighting opportunism and corruption)
Moderator:
Deputy-Director Nicole Pierce De Montfort, University, Leicester; European Regional Forum Liaison Officer, IBA Poverty and Social Development Committee
Speakers:
Stephen Karangizi Director, African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) of the African Development Bank, Abidjan
Professor Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal Queen Mary University of London, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, London
Vikram Raghavan Lead Counsel, World Bank, Washington DC
Michael Strauss General Counsel, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), London
Places are strictly limited, register now to secure your place.
Webinar Series Exploring the WTO Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Agreement
16 June 2020 (AST), Online
Please join the SRC on June 16 at 10 am AST (4 pm CET/7:30 pm New Delhi) for the first part of a webinar series exploring the Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Agreement (MPIA): an interim agreement put forward by a group of World Trade Organization (WTO) Members to temporarily address the paralysis at the WTO’s Appellate Body (AB). While its proponents highlight its most attractive features including its preservation of the WTO’s two-tier binding legal system, most WTO Members still have not signed up to it and remain curious about the impact of the MPIA on the future of WTO dispute settlement, and the WTO generally. For more on the MPIA see: Dr Jan Yves Remy’s article entitled MPIA: Curse or Cure.
Our esteemed panel enters into this critical debate about the MPIA at a crucial time in the history of the WTO! Come hear new and different perspectives on the topic from global thought-leaders in the field of WTO dispute settlement working in Geneva, India and the United States. Please see the attached flyer for further details on the panelists. You don’t want to miss this!
The rule of law at sea and future of island states
3 March 2020, Wellington
Since the ocean has many uncertainties, islands states seem to have much potential and will face many challenges in the future.
LAWASIA Environmental Law Conference
3-4 April 2020, Fiji
The conference will offer a topical and intensive legal briefing and discussion forum on key issues relevant to climate change, its impact on the Pacific and the role of lawyers in addressing those issues.
Pacific Regional International Dispute Resolution (IDR) Workshop
25-26 May 2020, Insel Fehmarn Hotel, Apia, Samoa
With the rise of globalisation the need for dispute resolution mechanisms to react quickly, fairly, and expertly to global problems have grown. In today’s world a country or territory needs to be aware of the available dispute resolution mechanisms to be able to react appropriately to disputes and to allow its citizens to benefit from the positive aspects of globalisation and at the same time arm them with tools to combat the negative aspects.
The workshop engages participants in developing IDR capacity by:
Fostering awareness of the different dispute resolution mechanisms and climate change/environmental issues;
Providing IDR awareness for diverse stakeholders including judges, government officials, legal practitioners, business owners, academics, and NGOs;
Exploring environmental law related issues in light of possible environmental/climate change claims.
With the guidance of international experts from the Pacific and beyond, and through a role-play scenario-based approach, participants will gain:
An understanding of the importance of a robust IDR framework;
An appreciation of the relevance of IDR mechanisms to climate change disputes;
Knowledge of the differences among the available dispute resolution mechanisms;
The ability to evaluate which dispute resolution mechanism is the right one for a particular case.
A limited number of additional places are available. Thanks to the generous support of our funders, we can offer these places for a nominal fee.
For a copy of the programme or to find out more, contact Prof Petra Butler petra.butler@vuw.ac.nz
We encourage participants to stay in Apia after the workshop for the Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change Conference, 27-29 May. For more information visit the conference website: https://pacificoceanclimatechange.org/
2020 Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change Conference
Wednesday, May 27 - Friday, May 29, 2020
Welcome to the 2020 Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Conference
The theme for our third biennial conference is Blue Pacific, Climate Action for Climate Resilience and will be held at the National University of Samoa, Le Papaigalagala Campus, To’omatagi, Samoa.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Pacific conversation on how island countries are responding to the challenges of the Paris Agreement and the impacts of climate change felt by people in the Pacific.
The conference will explore the science, the impacts, the solutions and the enablers. Download the draft programme.
We welcome all participation from all sectors of society and all corners of the Pacific, and the world. Registrations are now open.
Call for abstracts is also open and closes 28 February.
Talanoa with us.
small states, international law and the realisation of rights
Thursday, November 14, 2019, 9:00 AM - Friday, November 15, 2019, 5:45 PM
ISMS is looking forward to continue the successful small states conference series in cooperation with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and the cooperation with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
SRC lunch time chat - natural disasters and trade
Wednesday, November 6, 2019, 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Dear Friend of the SRC,
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming SRC Lunch Time Chat on 'Natural Disasters and Trade' carded for Wednesday, November 6th at 12:30-2 pm at the SRC Conference Room, Ground Floor, CARICOM Building, The UWI.
Direct economic losses from climate-related natural disasters have increased 151% in the last 20 years, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2018. The damage is magnified in small island developing States like those in the Caribbean where loss and damage could exceed our annual GDP, disrupt our ability to trade and reset our development clocks. Join us as we explore this pertinent topic with our two experts!
By Zoom
The event will be broadcast live via Zoom teleconference at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/292213233
In person
If you will be joining us in person, please RSVP to myself Alicia Nicholls or Tameshia Brandford (alicia.nicholls@cavehill.uwi.edu or tameshia.brandford@cavehill.uwi.edu) by Monday, November 4th so we may arrange seating accordingly. All are invited!
Please see flyer below for further details and feel free to share with your respective networks! Thank you and we look forward to your attendance.
From the caribbean to the pacific islands: dreams & common issues
Wednesday, July 17, 2019, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Inaugural ISMS and Caribbean Council Event at Victoria University of Wellington.
London international boundary conference
Tuesday, April 2, 2019, 9:00 AM - Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 6:00 PM
Petra Butler Spoke On - Curiosity Does Not Always Kills the Cat – The Resourceful Ways How Small Islands Combat Climate Change.