World Press Freedom Day
“Quality journalism enables citizens to make informed decisions about their society’s development. It also works to expose injustice, corruption, and the abuse of power. For this, journalism must be able to thrive, in an enabling environment in which they can work independently and without undue interference and in conditions of safety.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
Photography Competition Deadline
The Allard Prize enthusiastically invites photographers from around the globe to submit entries for the Allard Prize Photography Competition, reflecting themes of courage and leadership in combating corruption, especially through promoting transparency, accountability and the Rule of Law, and of human rights and/or anti-corruption generally. The Allard Prize particularly welcomes images that speak to corruption and human rights in the developed world. Each winning entry will receive: CDN $1,000 photograph featured on the Allard Prize website for six months inclusion of the photographer’s name, and brief description of the photograph, on the website inclusion of the photograph in the website archive as a past winner Submit your photos here.
Nowhere People Project ft. Greg Constantine, Allard Prize Photography Competition Winner
Join us for a presentation and discussion by Greg Constantine of his project and new book Nowhere People. Nowhere People is a 10-year investigation that documents the lives of stateless individuals and communities around the world. A reception and book signing will follow. Greg Constantine is an award-winning documentary photojournalist from the United States and is one of the winners of the semi-annual Allard Prize Photography Competition. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP. The Nowhere People project documents individuals and ethnic communities around the world who have had their citizenship stripped or denied from them by governments (mostly because of discrimination, racism & intolerance) and as a result, are denied almost all fundamental rights, do not have citizenship to any country and are stateless. The third and capstone book of the project, Nowhere People, was published in November 2015. The book was named a Notable Photo Book of the Year by PDN and was also named one of the 10 Best Photo Books of 2015 byMother Jones Magazine. Bio: Greg Constantine is an award-winning documentary photojournalist from the United States. In 2005, he moved to southeast Asia and began work on his long-term project, Nowhere People, which documents the struggles and plight of stateless communities around the world. Constantine has spent the past ten years documenting stateless communities from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon. His work has been featured in various publications including the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, The Atlantic, CNN and Al-Jazeera. In 2011, a series of books from the Nowhere People project was released with the aim of not only chronicling and spreading more awareness of the plight of stateless people but also to help engage policy makers. Kenya’s Nubians: Then & Now was published in 2011. Exiled To Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya was published in 2012 and was named a Notable Photo Book of the Year by the Independent on Sunday in the UK and by the editors of PDN Magazine. Nowhere People is the third book in the series. Download his full bio and a description of Nowhere People. www.nowherepeople.org www.exiledtonowhere.com Sponsors: Allard School of Law, Liu Institute for Global Issues
International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
On 21 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 March as the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The purpose of the Day is to: Honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice; Pay tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in, the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all; Recognize, in particular, the important work and values of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, of El Salvador, who was assasinated on 24 March 1980, after denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable populations and defending the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity and opposition to all forms of violence. The UN General Assembly, in its resolution, invites all Member States, international organizations and civil society organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day in an appropriate manner.
Open Forum with Ben Wizner, Edward Snowden’s Legal Advisor
On government surveillance, technology companies, and whistleblower protection Ben Wizner will discuss how surveillance technologies have outpaced democratic controls, the legal challenges of holding government surveillance agencies accountable, and the tension between individual privacy rights and national security objectives. Ben Wizner is the Director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy & Technology Project. He has worked at the intersection of civil liberties and national security for fifteen years, litigating numerous cases involving airport security policies, government watch lists, surveillance practices, targeted killing, and torture. He is the principal legal advisor to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and appears regularly in the global media, has testified before Congress, and is an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law. March 22, 2016 at 12:30pm in the Franklin Lew Forum at the Peter A. Allard School of Law
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
World Day of Social Justice
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 26 November 2007 The General Assembly, Recalling the World Summit for Social Development, held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995, and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly, entitled “World Summit for Social Development and beyond: achieving social development for all in a globalizing world”, held at Geneva from 26 June to 1 July 2000, Reaffirming that the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action1 and the further initiatives for social development adopted by the General Assembly at its twenty-fourth special session 2 constitute the basic framework for the promotion of social development for all at the national and international levels, Recalling the commitment to promote national and global economic systems based on the principles of justice, equity, democracy, participation, transparency, accountability and inclusion, Reaffirming the commitment made in the 2005 World Summit Outcome to full and productive employment and decent work for all, including for women and young people, as a central objective of relevant national and international policies as well as national development strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, as part of the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,3 1. Recognizes that social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms; 2. Also recognizes that broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development and social justice; 3. Further recognizes that globalization and interdependence are opening new opportunities through trade, investment and capital flows and advances in technology, including information technology, for the growth of the world economy and the development and improvement of living standards around the world, while at the same time there remain serious challenges, including serious financial crises, insecurity, poverty, exclusion and inequality within and among societies and considerable obstacles to further integration and full participation in the global economy for developing countries as well as some countries with economies in transition; 4. Recognizes the need to consolidate further the efforts of the international community in poverty eradication and in promoting full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all; 5. Decides to declare that, starting from the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, 20 February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice; 6. Invites all Member States to devote this special day to the promotion, at the national level, of concrete activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly. 57th plenary meeting 26 November 2007 1. Report of the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 6–12 March 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.8), chap. I, resolution 1, annexes I and II. 2. Resolution S-24/2, annex. 3. See resolution 60/1, para. 47.
2015 Anti-Corruption Festival
Bandung has added yet another highlight to its calendar, with the capital city of West Java being chosen to host the Anti-Corruption Festival 2015 next month. Bandung city secretary Yosi Irianto said on Wednesday that the festival was a joint production by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Bandung City Council and the Anti-Corruption Festival 2015 community consortium. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to open the festival, which will take place on Dec. 10 and 11. “It is a [very] positive thing that Bandung has been chosen to host the festival. We hope Bandung can serve as an example for not only other administrations, but for other sectors also,” Yosi said as quoted by state news agency Antara. Bandung was chosen because the city, known as “Paris van Java”, was considered excellent in terms of public participation, infrastructure availability and improved corruption prevention. Yosi said that in the last few years, the Bandung administration had taken a range of graft prevention measures. The city also received an award from the KPK last year for graft control and on-schedule financial report. Last year’s event was held in Yogyakarta and was filled with art activities. This year, the KPK is collaborating with creative communities in Bandung for the event. The KPK’s education and public service director Sujanarko said the anti-graft commission aimed to attract more public participation at the festival. “The KPK could not work by itself. We want everyone to have an active role in the early prevention of corruption from the ground up,” he said. Source: Jakarta Post
Fighting the Silence: International Human Rights Film Screening
Please join us for a film screening and panel discussion on combatting crimes of sexual violence, featuring ‘Fighting the Silence,’ a globally acclaimed documentary about sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Click here to register. The Film “Fighting the Silence,’ produced by IFProductions, tells the story of ordinary Congolese women and men who are struggling to change their society. Rape survivors and their families speak out openly about the suffering they endured because their culture considers women second class citizens and rape a taboo. The Vancouver screening is the final stop in IFProductions’ Canadian debut tour, following screenings in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. The Panel Discussion The panel discussion following the screening will focus on issues raised by the film and address the broader context of seeking accountability for crimes of sexual violence, both domestically and internationally. The Panelists Femke van Velzen, Producer & Director of Fighting the Silence, IFProductions (Netherlands) Janine Benedet, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs & Co-Director of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC Nicole Barrett, Executive Director, Allard Prize Initiatives, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC & Former War Crimes Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Event Details Date: Wednesday, December 9 Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Place: UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Directions here Room: Theatre – C300 This is a free event, open to all. Parking To access the Robson Square’s underground parking, travel to the corner of Howe Street and Nelson Street. Once in the lot, follow the directional signs to the UBC Robson Square parking area. Hourly $3.75 until 6pm. After 6pm, $3/hour, $6 max for the evening. For more information: www.impark.com. Public Transit The Translink web site allows you to plan your trip via transit to UBC from any Lower Mainland location. Organizers This event is co-hosted by the Allard Prize for International Integrity and The Center for Feminist Legal Studies at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC. Special thanks to the following institutions and individuals for assisting with this event: Amnesty International Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada Consulate for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Vancouver Justice Education Society of British Columbia Marcia Kran, Former Director of the Research and Right to Development Division at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva
International Anti-Corruption Day
International Anti-Corruption Day has been observed annually, on 9 December, since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on 31 October 2003.