Webinar: The legal community and environmental rights

Defending the environment is a risky business. Join our discussion of the crucial role that human rights defenders play in protecting our planet, the risks posed by COVID-19, and pro bono initiatives taken by the international legal community to help them.

24/06/2020 at 18:00 (Amsterdam time)

Register for this webinar

Land and environmental rights defenders are the single most persecuted group of human rights defenders. In 2019, 40% of all human rights defenders killed were working in this field.

The outbreak has only posed more problems for ethnic minority and peasant communities fighting for access to land and territory. Where previously human rights defenders have tentatively relied on the rule of law to represent the claims of communities to land, increasingly regressive legislation is making this more and more difficult. Join our discussion to find out what the legal community can do to prevent this, and the way forward for protecting environmental rights in times of crisis.

Our star panel will feature Kate Cook on the role and responsibilities of lawyers advising corporations and the importance of the UN Guiding principles on Business and Human Rights, and lawyer and environmental defender Donald Hernandez about his experience of protecting the rights of indigenous and peasant communities from corporate abuse in Honduras. Sekar Banjaran Aji will give us her perspective on the future of environmental protection from an Indonesian perspective in her capacity as a policy researcher.

We will also be speaking to Simmons & Simmons lawyers Richard Dyton and Victoria Channing about best practice for pro bono work, with a focus on the toolbox developed in partnership with PBI UK to equip human rights defenders with the knowledge and understanding needed to confront adverse corporate practices.

Chair
Richard Dyton, pro bono partner at Simmons & Simmons and trustee of the Legal Response Initiative, the Lawyers Against Poverty Network, and A4ID

Speakers
Victoria Channing, pro bono manager at Simmons & Simmons

Kate Cook, Environmental law expert and Matrix Chambers barrister

Donald Hernandez, Human rights lawyer at the Honduran Centre for Community Promotion and Development and winner of the Sir Henry Brooke Awards 2019

Sekar Banjaran Aji, Environmental law specialist and researcher at The Institute of Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), Indonesia

Chair: Richard Dyton Richard is Head of International Projects at Simmons & Simmons and specialises in PPP/PFI concessions and non-contentious construction law in the UK and internationally, with a particular focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors. Richard joined Simmons & Simmons in 1995, and became a partner in 1997. In addition to being a member of the Society of Construction Law, Richard is also an accredited adjudicator at the Institution of Civil Engineers. He holds an MSc in construction law and arbitration from King’s College, London.

Speaker 1: Victoria Channing is a commercially focused legal professional with an MBA and experience of practising overseas and in-house. Having previously worked as a commercial litigator at Simmons & Simmons, she now runs the firm’s international pro bono practice, spanning 22 offices across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

 

Speaker 2: Donald Hernandez is a Honduran lawyer who works tirelessly to pursue justice for environmental defenders, and protect the rights of marginalised communities against powerful interests. Donald works with the communities living on affected lands, helping indigenous groups and campesinos to understand their rights under national and international law. This includes ILO Convention 169, which states that indigenous peoples must be involved in decision-making for new projects. As a lawyer for the Honduran Centre for Community Promotion and Development he represents over 30 other defenders, who have been criminalised for protecting their lands.

Speaker 3: Kate Cook has specialist and wide-ranging expertise in environmental law. She also practises generally in public international, European Union and human rights law. She has appeared as counsel before the International Court of Justice in cases relating to environmental issues and genocide. Her recent work includes advising states, NGOs and international organisations on climate emergency issues and advising UN agencies and NGOs on a range of fisheries related issues.

 

Speaker 4: Sekar Banjaran Ali is a researcher, specialising in advocacy within the framework of Business and Human Rights. She also works as a public lawyer, providing legal services to vulnerable people (women, children, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups) affected by corporate activities. She believes that companies need to be embraced to respect human rights and protect the environment in the interests of sustainability.

DateWednesday June 24th 2020
Time18:00
EntranceFree
Sign uphttps://www.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pUbKIwu-Seu_jSeSpc07gw