Events
Celebrating Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt:
A Conversation on Conflict, Human Rights, and Our Global Fight for Justice
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: Washington, D.C. (exact address to be provided upon RSVP)
Please RSVP as soon as possible as space is limited.
Description:
Join us for a conversation, starting at 6:45 pm, about the most pressing issues concerning access to justice in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Tunisia, and elsewhere, and the success of the International Legal Foundation in working to protect the rights of women, children, and other marginalized individuals.
Speakers will include:
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Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, Board member of the International Legal Foundation
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Jennifer Smith, Executive Director, International Legal Foundation
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Eric Schwartz, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration and professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
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Thi Thi Han, former ILF public defender in Myanmar and recent LLM graduate from American University
The evening will feature a celebration of Stephanie and provide information about the ILF's Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt Fund, which will continue to honor her creativity, energy, and dedication to working for justice and human rights in challenging contexts.
Wine, soft drinks, and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
If you are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days, we ask that you please stay home. The venue has a roof terrace (with a beautiful view of the Potomac), for those who prefer to remain outdoors
Learn more about The Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt Fund here:
UN CCPCJ Side Event
Global Action to Combat Discrimination and Inequality in Criminal Justice Systems
Date: May 25, 2023
Time: 8:00 - 8:50 am CEST
Description:
International law sets forth that all are equal before the law without discrimination, and governments have incorporated equal protection and non-discrimination into their constitutions and laws. In practice, however, criminal justice systems around the world discriminatorily criminalise people who are marginalized based on poverty, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, disability, nationality, gender, and other statuses or identities. Building on momentum from last year’s CCPCJ and a growing, global movement to address these inequities, this side-event will bring together governments, practitioners, civil society, and other experts to demonstrate discrimination within criminal laws and policies; share effective solutions; and highlight urgent actions needed to increase international cooperation on addressing inequality in criminal justice systems.
See the full event description and speaker line up here. Interpretation will be available in English, Arabic, French, and Portuguese.
Celebrating Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt:
A Conversation on Conflict, Human Rights and, Our Global Fight for Justice
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2022
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: NYC
Please RSVP as soon as possible as space is limited.
Description:
Join us for a conversation, starting at 7 pm, about the pressing issues concerning access to justice, and the ILF’s response, in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Tunisia, with Stephanie, Barnett Rubin, Maureen Aung Thwin, Aryeh Neier, Jennifer Smith and others.
The evening will include the launch of a Fund that will carry forward Stephanie’s creativity, energy and commitment to working for justice, human rights and gender equality in challenging contexts.
Wine, soft drinks, and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
For the safety of all guests, COVID-19 vaccination and day-of testing is required.
Learn more about The Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt Fund here:
ILF Community Conversation:
Afghanistan One Year Later
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT
Description:
One year ago, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, threatening the hard-won human rights and women’s rights gains that the ILF’s committed defense lawyers have made over the past two decades. Much public discourse has been focused on evacuations and those who have left Afghanistan, but millions of Afghans remain in the country including ILF lawyers fighting on the frontlines of justice.
The ILF has continued to operate in Afghanistan since August 2021. Despite significant challenges, ILF lawyers have demonstrated the critical role of a strong civil society by gaining access to courts and prisons, providing legal representation to vulnerable clients, and winning positive case outcomes.
On August 17, 2022, members of the ILF’s Afghanistan leadership team, country director Mr. Mohammad Nabi Waqar and former deputy country director and advisor Ms. Samira Eshaqzai, will join us to discuss Afghanistan’s deepening crisis in access to justice, and the ILF’s work to address it.
The ILF’s Community Conversations aim to provide a space to reimagine, recommit, and reinspire
all of us who care about building a more just world.
UN CCPCJ Side Event
Decisive Action to Reform Laws that Criminalize Poverty & Status.
Date: May 20th, 2022
Time: 7:10 EST / 13:10 CEST
Description:
Criminal justice systems continue to disproportionately affect segments of society that are living in poverty and/or are marginalised. A typical example of bias and active targeting by decision-makers seen across the world can be found within Black and marginalised ethnic communities who continue to be overrepresented in these systems. Moves have accelerated in countries across the world to reform national laws that criminalise people for who they are, rather than what they have done, through court action and legislative reform. This upcoming UNCCPCJ side event offers an opportunity for key institutional and civil society actors to set out clear goals and decisive action needed to continue the work of decriminalising poverty and status.
See the full event description and speaker lineup here. Interpretation will be available in English, French and Portuguese.
World Congress on Justice with Children
The ILF is co-organizing two panels at this year’s World Congress on Justice With Children. Register to join.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
7:00 AM NYC/ 5:45 PM Kathmandu:
Asia Regional Session
Title: Strategic Litigation and Enhanced Public Governance to Address Systemic Injustices Against Children Facing Poverty and Marginalization.
Description:
In Asia and around the world, racial, ethnic, religious and gender disparities pervade juvenile justice systems. This means that children and young people from poor and otherwise marginalized communities come into contact with the justice system at disproportionately high rates. Unfortunately, justice systems are unprepared to meet the specific needs of children and young people in contact with the law. Convened by The ILF, OECD, and UNICEF, this panel of experts will probe key drivers of contact with the justice system for poor and marginalized children and young people, and share practical strategies to improve public governance, fill service gaps, and fight in the courtroom to tackle injustices.
World Congress on Justice with Children
The ILF is co-organizing two panels at this year’s World Congress on Justice With Children. Register to join.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
9:00 AM NYC / 4:00 PM Amman:
MENA Regional Session
Title: Legal aid & children in the MENA region: addressing gaps and highlighting opportunities – A journey through Arab countries experiences.
Description:
COVID-19 and regional instability have had negative impacts on governments, private entities and judicial institutions in the MENA region. This has led to even greater challenges for child justice systems. The ILF in partnership with Terres Des Hommes will convene a panel of experts to discuss the need for child-friendly legal aid to ensure access to justice-- especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will share case study examples from Tunisia and Palestine highlighting restorative justice and mediation practices, and examples from Iraq and Jordan with a focus on legal aid for children accused on national security grounds and legal safeguards and judicial process limitations, respectively.
UN CCPCJ Side Event
ILAN: Strengthening the International Legal Aid Network to Achieve Justice for All
Thursday, May 20, 2021
14:10 - 15:00 Vienna Time
Description:
This event will highlight efforts to strengthen the International Legal Aid Network (ILAN) as a means to address the global crisis in access to justice, in line with the Kyoto Declaration and recent discussions at the UN Crime Congress. See full event details here. (link the below link) https://www.unodc.org/res/commissions/CCPCJ/session/30_Session_2021/side_event_program_thu_20-05_html/Flyer_ILAN_Argentina.pdf
Organized by: Argentina with the support of South Africa and the United States, and the Asociación Interamericana de Defensorías Públicas (AIDEF), the Business Leaders for Justice Coalition, the International Legal Foundation, the Legal Aid Service Georgia, and the UNODC Justice Section
UN CCPCJ Side Event
Tackling Criminalization of the Poor and Most Marginalized
Friday, May 21, 2021
14:10 - 15:00 Vienna Time
Description:
Experts and practitioners from several regions will discuss strategies and successes in tackling offenses used to target and criminalize the poor and most marginalized members of our societies. Full event details.
The event has been organized by The International Legal Foundation with the support of Fair Trials, Open Society Foundations, and Penal Reform International
Description:
The International Conference on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems will hold a special virtual convening on legal aid amidst COVID-19 to continue to achieve progress on equal access to justice for all as envisaged in the 2030 Agenda and to strengthen access to quality legal aid services for the poor and vulnerable.
The Public Defender's Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro will host the virtual conference together with the International Legal Foundation (ILF), the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and in collaboration with the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the National College of General Public Defenders of Brazil (CONDEGE), the Public Defender's Office of the Union, and the National Association of Public Defenders of Brazil (ANADEP).
Voices of SDG16+:
Stories for Global Action
Description:
On Wednesday, July 15, 2020, the ILF was featured in a virtual side event during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum to discuss how the organization is advancing SDG16+ in Palestine.
The ILF was one of five organizations selected as finalists in the Voices of SDG16+ video campaign, which asked individuals and organizations around the world to share their “best practices and extraordinary efforts being undertaken towards SDG16+ at the national and local levels, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.”
The event showcased a video illustrating the work of the ILF’s Palestine team followed by a presentation from Ghadanfar Kamanji, the ILF’s Country Director in Palestine.
Community Conversation:
Nepal from Case #1 to COVID-19
July 1, 2020
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
[This event has ended]
Description:
In 2008, the ILF established the first independent public defender office in Nepal. A decade later, the Nepal team is now locally-led as the Public Defender Society of Nepal (PDS-Nepal). PDS-Nepal has grown into a premier legal aid institution. The team has led numerous criminal justice reforms, provided critical advocacy in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake.
Today, they are fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis in Nepal, where police brutality and strict lockdown measures have threatened human rights and due process.
Join us for a discussion with ILF Country Representative and Director of the Public Defender Society of Nepal Ajay Shankar Jha Rupesh. From the ILF’s early days in Nepal to today’s pandemic, Mr. Shankar Jha Rupesh will reflect on the program’s evolution, biggest challenges, and the strategies that have worked in the fight for justice in Nepal.
