16 November 2011 at 17:15 Lund University Hall
Welcome address Professor Per Eriksson Vice-Chancellor of Lund University
Address Ms. Marie Tuma Director, Raoul Wallenberg Institute
Protection of Human Rights in Situations of Crisis: A Defender’s Perspective Ms. Hina Jilani Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Director of AGHS Legal Aid Cell
Concluding address Ambassador Hans Corell Former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute
Ms. Hina Jilani
Hina Jilani is a lawyer practicing in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and is the Director of AGHS Legal Aid Cell, a legal aid and human rights NGO in Pakistan. Ms. Jilani was appointed Advocate of the High Court of Pakistan in 1981, seven years after completing her law studies. In 1992 she was appointed Advocate of the Supreme Court. She established Pakistan’s first all-women’s law firm in 1980, and cases she has conducted have on numerous occasions become landmarks for setting standards for human rights in Pakistan. Special areas of concern in her work have been the rights of women, minorities, children and prisoners, including political prisoners. Her activity in these areas include legal aid, advocacy for rights, proposing and preparing legislative drafts for law reform, and designing and conducting projects for the protection, promotion and implementation of the human rights of disadvantaged groups and their social, political and economic development. She served as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders from 2000 to 2008. She was appointed as a member of the UN Fact Finding Mission on Gaza in April 2009, and was also a member of the UN established International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur in October 2004. She has all through her career worked both nationally and internationally with a range of NGOs and NGO networks, and is member of the council and founding board of several international human rights institutions. She was elected as the Chair of South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) in December 2010. She co-founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Women’s Action Forum in 1986 and 1980, respectively. Ms. Jilani’s struggle has captured international attention. She is the recipient of numerous human rights awards including the Human Rights Monitor Award in 1991, the American Bar Association Litigation Award in 1992, the Human Rights First Award in 1999, the Amnesty International Genetta Sagan Award for Women’s Rights in 2000 and the Millennium Peace Prize in the following year. In 2009 she was awarded the Honorary Doctorate in Law by the Roehampton University, United Kingdom.