INVITATION
Legal Empowerment of the Poor for Sustainable Livelihoods: The Canadian Agenda for Change
A Roundtable Dialogue
14hr – 17hr, Friday, March 11 2011
Demarais Hall, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Canada
Over 4 billion people are robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law, according to the leading 2008 Report of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. How can legal empowerment of the poor secure better access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights towards more sustainable development in the global south? How is Canada contributing to legal empowerment of the poor around the world, and what more can be done?
Hosted by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, in collaboration with the Jean Monnet Chair in Sustainable Development Law at the University of Ottawa, McGill University, the University of Montreal, the University of Saskatchewan, and the International Development Law Organization.
RSVP to Patrick Reynaud, CISDL Manager, at preynaud@cisdl.org
PROGRAMME
Legal Empowerment of the Poor for Sustainable Livelihoods: The Canadian Agenda for Change
A Roundtable Dialogue
14hr – 17hr, Friday, March 11 2011
Demarais Hall, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Canada (room to be confirmed)
The global Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor (LEP), chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto, released in 2008 a comprehensive report on LEP. The Commission was launched in 2005 by a group of leading developing and developed countries, including Canada, and directed by Dr Naresh Singh. Following the Report, the United Nations General Assembly acknowledged the importance of LEP in terms of its poverty eradication goals and initiatives (See UNGA Resolution A/C.2/64/L.4/Rev.2, 3 December 2009).
“Over 4 billion people are “robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law.” LEP, conceptualised broadly in terms of access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights, is proposed to provide the opportunity for those living in poverty to improve their conditions and secure more sustainable development.
This Roundtable Dialogue aims to involve major Canadian stakeholders in an open discussion on how key Canadian actors are contributing to the realisation of the LEP agenda, and what more can be done. As emphasized in the LEP Commission Report, LEP is a bold vision, and its implementation presents a significant challenge, everywhere in the global south. Overall, LEP requires a novel approach to poverty eradication, towards respect for human rights and sustainable development.
14:00 – 14:15 Welcome & Introduction of Roundtable Participants
Chair: Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, CISDL / IDLO
14:15 – 14:45 Opening Comments & Case Studies
The 2008 LEP Commission Report: A Vision to Improve Access to Justice, Rights & Sustainability
Mr. Patrick Reynaud, CISDL (McGill)
Case Study: LEP, Health & Access to Medicines
Mr. David Patterson, International Development Law Organisation
Case Study: LEP, the Green Economy & Access to Climate Finance
Ms. Sarah Mason-Case, CISDL (McGill) & Prof Konstantia Koutouki*, CISDL (Montreal)
14:45 – 15:45 Roundtable Dialogue 1 – Legal Empowerment of the Poor in Principle and in Practice
What are our concepts of LEP, is there a common vision? What are leading examples of LEP Practices among Canadians and our partners in developing countries? What are key barriers, and successes, and how can we be more effective?
Interventions by Roundtable Participants and Dialogue
15:45 – 16:45 Roundtable Dialogue 2 – Improving Canadian Understanding and Support for Legal Empowerment of the Poor
What are the roles of Canadians in promoting legal empowerment of the poor, including through research, action and policy leadership? How to build understanding and support for legal empowerment in Canada, and among partners?
Interventions by Roundtable Participants and Dialogue
16:45 – 17:00 Future Directions / Thanks & Acknowledgements
Participants include respected legal scholars and jurists from the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL); the International Development Law Organization; the University of Ottawa Jean Monnet Chair in Sustainable Development Law, Ottawa Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability and Centre de recherche et d’enseignement sur les droits de la personne; McGill University; the University of Montreal; the University of Saskatchewan; the University of Cambridge; the University of Chile; the Canadian Bar Association; the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice; the National Judicial Institute; the International Development Research Centre; the Canadian International Development Agency; the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada; Indian & Northern Affairs Canada; Justice Canada; Natural Resources Canada; the Barreau de Quebec; the North-South Institute; the Institute for the Study of International Development; Pro Bono Quebec; the Ontario Social Justice Cluster of Tribunals, and other leading Canadian government departments, universities and legal empowerment institutions.
Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, MEM (Yale) BCL & LLB (McGill) BA Hons
Director, Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) &
Affiliated Fellow, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law (LCIL), Cambridge University
mccs2@cam.ac.uk
Chef, Division environnement et développement durable,
Organisation Internationale de Droit du Développement (IDLO)
Senior Director of Research, Sustainable Prosperity
International Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Chile
+39 345 917 4983 (IDLO mobile) / +44 7748 105 570 (UK mobile)
mcordonier@idlo.int / mcsegger@cisdl.org