Share

cover art for What is a Human Rights Defender and Who Protects Them?

Just Access

What is a Human Rights Defender and Who Protects Them?

Season 2, Ep. 20

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking to Mary Lawlor, who is currently Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2020. She is also the founder of Frontline Defenders and has had various positions with Amnesty International. We talk about her remarkable career and and everything she's done for human rights.


Key Highlights:

  • What are Human Rights Defenders: Learn about the human rights activism and the risks it may entail.
  • First-Hand Experience: Explore the experiences of Mary Lawlor and her day-to-day work as Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
  • Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights: how cases are prioritised and how they communicate with each other.
  • Special Procedures: how effective are they?
  • Access to Justice: The discussion highlights the significant challenges in ensuring access to justice for human rights defenders and human rights in general due to lack of political will of member states and impunity as major obstacle.


Why Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in being a human rights defender, understanding special procedures and the challenges of the mechanism.


Call to Action:

  • Stay tuned for our next podcast conversation: with Ida Manton, international negotiations specialist.
  • Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!
  • Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect human rights and their defenders.
  • Please visit Frontline Defenders if you might want to help or support with a donation.



Keywords: Human rights defenders, special rapporteur, special procedures, podcast episode, Just Access.


Enjoy listening!


Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 21. What is negotiation and mediation?

    31:52||Season 2, Ep. 21
    In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking to Ida Manton about her work as a trainer and scholar in the field of negotiations, mediation, and conflict management. In this first part of the interview, we discuss her career and work in this field, and in our second episode with Ida, we will talk about where she sees the biggest gaps in access to justice and ways we can work to address them.Key Highlights:First-Hand Experience: Explore the experiences of Ida Manton and her journey to becoming a negotiation expert.Negotiation and Mediation: What is the difference?Gaining negotiation skills: how can one learn to negotiate?Applying negotiation skills: what are the different fields where negotiation sills can be useful?Why Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in how negotiation skills can be used to defend human rights.Call to Action:Stay tuned for our next podcast conversation: with Christopher Robertson and Louise P. King, about their article on "Structural Sex Discrimination: Why Gynecology Patients Suffer Avoidable Injuries and What the Law Can Do About It".Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect human rights and their defenders.Keywords: Negotiations, Mediation, Conflict management, Human rights defenders, podcast episode, Just Access.Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 19. Can Strategic Litigation Remove Barriers to Protecting the Climate?

    24:52||Season 2, Ep. 19
    In this episode, we have the pleasure of continuing the conversation with Dr. Ashfaq Kalfan, who is the Director of Climate Justice at Oxfam USA. We continue our conversation from the previous episode, where we talked more about his career, focusing on socio economic human rights, and moving into strategic climate litigation. And here we go into more detail about climate justice, what is happening in the world of strategic climate litigation, as well as his perspectives on human rights and how they can be improved to increase access to justice for all. We hope you enjoy the second part of our conversation.Key Highlights:Learn About Strategic Climate Litigation: Learn about the international laws and courts governing climate change and strategic litigation as means of holding states accountable.First-Hand Experience: Explore the experiences of Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan with working on climate change litigation and socio-economic rights, i.a. with Amnesty International, Oxfam USA and the Center for International Sustainable Development Law.Social Justice Issues: empowering, equipping change-makers around the world to be able to understand how international law can be used in their work.Access to Justice: The discussion highlights the significant challenges in ensuring access to justice for climate change through strategic litigationWhy Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in environmental justice, climate change, strategic litigation, human rights, freedom of speech!Call to Action:Stay tuned for part two, where we continue the conversation with Ashfaq Khalfan!Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect our environment and human rights.Keywords: Climate change, climate emergency, climate crisis, climate Justice, environmental justice, socio-economic rights, sustainable development law, human rights, podcast episode, Just Access.Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 18. Will the Courts Save Us from Climate Change?

    22:41||Season 2, Ep. 18
    In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan, who is the Director of Climate Justice at Oxfam USA. In this first part of our conversation, we speak about his interest in human rights, specifically socioeconomic human rights, and his career so far, including a current focus on climate change strategic litigation. In the second part of our conversation, we will talk more about what's happening in the world of strategic climate litigation, all the way up at the level of the International Court of Justice, what his team is working on for this, and what he thinks Areas might be to look out for in the future on this topic.Key Highlights:Learn About Strategic Climate Litigation: Learn about the international laws and courts governing climate change and strategic litigation as means of holding states accountable. First-Hand Experience: Explore the experiences of Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan with working on climate change litigation and socio-economic rights, i.a. with Amnesty International, Oxfam USA and the Center for International Sustainable Development Law. Social Justice Issues: empowering, equipping change-makers around the world to be able to understand how international law can be used in their work.Access to Justice: The discussion highlights the significant challenges in ensuring access to justice for climate change through strategic litigationWhy Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in environmental justice, climate change, strategic litigation, human rights, freedom of speech!Call to Action:Stay tuned for part two, where we continue the conversation with Ashfaq Khalfan!Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect our environment and human rights.Keywords: Climate change, climate emergency, climate crisis, climate Justice, environmental justice, socio-economic rights, sustainable development law, human rights, podcast episode, Just Access.Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 17. What to look out for with ongoing climate protests?

    19:32||Season 2, Ep. 17
    In this episode, we have the pleasure of continuing the conversation with two fabulous guests who I've been talking about climate protest in the Netherlands, Germany, and beyond in our previous episode. One of our guests is Mirjam Hermann, a climate activist and law student. Our second guest is Juanita van Lunen, an attorney at The Hague working on criminal law and demonstration rights. In this second part of our conversation, we continue discussing their experiences with climate protests, as well as their recommendations for how law students, lawyers, and the general public can get involved.Key Highlights:Learn About Climate Protests: Learn about the fraught and controversial world of disruptive protests on climate change.First-Hand Experience: Explore the experiences of Juanita van Lunen and Mirjam Herrmann and legal advisors to protestors.Environmental Catastrophe: Understand the urgency which leads climate protestors to pursue increasingly disruptive forms of protest to demand action on climate change.Social Justice Issues: Gain a deeper understanding of the difficult balance which must be struck between the right to protest and the rights of others to go about their lives without undue disruption.Access to Justice: The discussion highlights the significant challenges in ensuring access to justice for climate protestors who have increasingly been criminalised, brutalised, and even cast as terrorists in their pursuit of climate justice.About Our Guests:Juanita van Lunen is a criminal law attorney in the Hague, and specialises in demonstrations law. She regularly advises climate protestors, both before and during protests, and following arrest.Mirjam Herrmann is a law student and climate activist, and one of the first climate protestors in Germany to be imprisoned under anti-climate-protest laws. She is a member of the association Rückendeckung für eine aktive Zivilgesellschaft (RAZ) e.V., which provides legal and psychological support to Letzte Generation and other climate activist groupsWhy Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in environmental justice, climate change, human rights, freedom of speech!Call to Action:Stay tuned for part two, as well as our next podcast conversation: with Ashfaq Khalfan, Director of Climate Justice at Oxfam USA!Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect our environment and human rights.Please visit https://raz-ev.org/unterstuetzen/ if you might want to help or support with a donation.Keywords: Climate change, climate emergency, climate crisis, climate Justice, environmental justice, climate protest, right to protest, freedom of speech, Klimakleber, Extinction Rebellion, Letzte Generation, human rights, podcast episode, Just Access.Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 16. What are climate protests?

    26:13||Season 2, Ep. 16
    In this episode, join host Dr Miranda Melcher as we delve into the fraught and controversial world of climate change protests, with expert guests Juanita van Lunen, an attorney based in The Hague, where she specialises in criminal law and demonstration rights in the Netherlands, and Mirjam Herrmann, a climate activist and law student in Germany, and member of the association Rückendeckung für eine aktive Zivilgesellschaft (RAZ) e.V., which provides legal and psychological support to Letzte Generation and other climate activist groups.In this first part of our conversation, we discuss how they got involved with the climate movement and some of their experiences so far.Key Highlights:Learn About Climate Protests: Learn about the fraught and controversial world of disruptive protests on climate change.First-Hand Experience: Explore the experiences of Juanita van Lunen and Mirjam Herrmann and legal advisors to protestors.Environmental Catastrophe: Understand the urgency which leads climate protestors to pursue increasingly disruptive forms of protest to demand action on climate change.Social Justice Issues: Gain a deeper understanding of the difficult balance which must be struck between the right to protest and the rights of others to go about their lives without undue disruption.Access to Justice: The discussion highlights the significant challenges in ensuring access to justice for climate protestors who have increasingly been criminalised, brutalised, and even cast as terrorists in their pursuit of climate justice.About Our Guests:Juanita van Lunen is a criminal law attorney in the Hague, and specialises in demonstrations law. She regularly advises climate protestors, both before and during protests, and following arrest.Mirjam Herrmann is a law student and climate activist, and one of the first climate protestors in Germany to be imprisoned under anti-climate-protest laws. She is a member of the association Rückendeckung für eine aktive Zivilgesellschaft (RAZ) e.V., which provides legal and psychological support to Letzte Generation and other climate activist groupsWhy Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in environmental justice, climate change, human rights, freedom of speech!Call to Action:Stay tuned for part two, as well as our next podcast conversation: with Ashfaq Khalfan, Director of Climate Justice at Oxfam USA!Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect our environment and human rights.Please visit https://raz-ev.org/unterstuetzen/ if you might want to help or support with a donation.Keywords: Climate change, climate emergency, climate crisis, climate Justice, environmental justice, climate protest, right to protest, freedom of speech, Klimakleber, Extinction Rebellion, Letzte Generation, human rights, podcast episode, Just Access.Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 15. Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique

    38:09||Season 2, Ep. 15
    In this episode, we continue the conversation with Dr Miranda Melcher, discussing her recently published book about peace treaties and how to improve outcomes coming out of civil wars. Last time we talked a bit about how I got into this research and some of the main findings of the book and today we go into more detail and discuss ways in which this links to access to justice.If you would like to order the book, you can find it here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/securing-peace-in-angola-and-mozambique-9781350407930/Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 14. Why Study Peace Treaties and Post-Conflict Militaries?

    29:54||Season 2, Ep. 14
    In this episode, we have something special for you. We have placed our podcast host, Dr. Miranda Melcher, on the other side of the microphone, to allow our audience to get to know her and her academic work better. Dr Melcher is interviewed by Nalenhle Moyo, the new Donor and Communication Specialist at Just Access.Dr. Melcher recently published a book titled Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique, where she delves into the role of access to justice and the resolution of civil conflict. In this first episode of our conversation, we'll discuss a bit about how I got into this research and some of the big picture findings of the book before, while in the next episode, we'll be talking about those specifics more and discussing implications for access to justice.If you would like to order the book, you can find it here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/securing-peace-in-angola-and-mozambique-9781350407930/Enjoy listening!Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media!
  • 13. "Planet Palm" - Human Rights Abuses by the Global Palm Oil Industry

    22:18||Season 2, Ep. 13
    Join host Dr Miranda Melcher in this compelling episode of Just Access as she sits down with acclaimed writer and editor Jocelyn Zuckerman to discuss her groundbreaking book, Planet Palm. Published in 2021, this exposé delves into the environmental and social abuses rampant in the global palm oil industry.Key Highlights:Learn About Palm Oil: Learn about the ubiquitous palm oil, its origins, and its extensive use in everyday products.First-Hand Experience: Jocelyn recounts her eye-opening journey to Liberia, where she witnessed the devastating impacts of palm oil plantations on local communities and the environment.Environmental Catastrophe: Understand the far-reaching consequences of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change driven by palm oil cultivation, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.Social Justice Issues: Explore the grim reality for plantation workers, including land grabs, poor working conditions, and exploitation.Access to Justice: The discussion highlights the significant challenges in ensuring justice for affected communities and workers, and the limited efficacy of oversight mechanisms like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).Consumer Responsibility: Jocelyn underscores the role of consumers in advocating for ethical practices by being mindful of product ingredients and supporting sustainable brands.About Jocelyn Zuckerman: Jocelyn Zuckerman is a prolific writer focused on environmental and social justice issues. With a background in literature and journalism, her career spans across various esteemed publications, shedding light on critical global matters.Why Listen? This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in environmental justice, human rights, and the intricate connections between global trade and local impacts. Gain insights into the hidden costs of palm oil and discover what you can do to support a more just and sustainable world.Call to Action: Read Planet Palm to dive deeper into the issues discussed. Stay informed and take action by advocating for sustainable practices and supporting policies that protect our environment and human rights.Follow and share the Podcast to make sure you never miss an episode!Tune in to this enlightening conversation and join us in the journey towards improving access to justice for all.Keywords: Jocelyn Zuckerman, Planet Palm, palm oil industry, environmental justice, social justice, deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, human rights, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, access to justice, sustainable practices, consumer responsibility, global trade, environmental impact, podcast episode, Just Access.