2017-2018 academic year
Recorded events
28 November 2018 - Human Rights Limits to Privatization: A Fiscal Illusion
A recording of this talk is available. Please head over to Facebook to see the complete album of pictures as well.
On November 28, 2018, the Centre was pleased to sponsor the 2018 Humphrey Lecture in Human Rights presented by Philip G. Alston, John Norton Pomeroy Professor at the New York University School of Law and moderated by Alana Klein, Associate Professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Law.
Privatization, often framed as “public-private partnerships” or PPPs, has increasingly transcended several sectors including education, prisons and healthcare. While it is often considered as a default option within a neoliberal paradigm, Alston problematizes private sector decision-making as a technical solution to manage resources by highlighting inherent issues including lack of transparency and accountability. He also points out that as government control is decreased, democracy becomes undermined. Moreover, despite several assumptions that ground mainstream orthodoxy, privatization is characterized by high costs and inefficiencies.
With an overall objective of profit maximization, private sector actors are less concerned with the well-being of rights-holders and marginalized groups. However, institutions such as the World Bank promote privatization by claiming that “people-first” public-private partnerships are necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As a way forward, Alston highlights the centrality of human rights in a privatization framework and proposes to reset the default by restoring the role of the public sector and re-legitimizing taxation.
Special thanks is given to the Manuel Shacter fund for graciously supporting this event.
17 October 2018 - East West Street and the Origins of 'Genocide' & 'Crimes against Humanity'
On October 17, 2018, Professor Philippe Sands, University College London, gave the annual René Cassin Lecture. He spoke of his book, East West Street: On the Origins of 'Crimes Against Humanity' and 'Genocide', and the people who coined those terms. You can listen to his talk on McGill's Lecture recording system.
1 March 2018 - Warnings from the Rohingya
On March 1, 2018, the CHLRP hosted a conversation between the Hon. Bob Rae, Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, and Professor Payam Akhavan. Mr. Rae discussed his Interim Report to the Government of Canada, which covers the humanitarian crisis in both Bangladesh and Myanmar as a result of the recent exodus of Rohingya refugees into neighbouring Bangladesh. You can listen to this talk on McGill's Lecture recording system.
31 January 2018 - John Humphrey Lecture in Human Rights with Professor John Borrows
Distinguished Visiting Tomlinson Professor John Borrows gave a talk on Indigenous Rights as Colonialism: UNDRIP and Canada’s Constitution on January 31, 2018. You can listen to his talk on McGill's Lecture recording system.
26 Apr 2018 - Third-World Approaches to International Law Scholarship
A talk by O'Brien Fellow in Residence Dr Radha D'Souza, University of Westminster.
Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) has emerged as a particular type of critique within Public International Law. This approach has become popular among students and young researchers who are turning to TWAIL critique to address a wide range of issues in the international arena. This presentation examined the TWAIL critique, what is distinctive about it and the challenges it faces going forward. Find out more...
9 Apr 2018 - Round table: Justice and Reconciliation in World Politics
A roundtable discussion on Professor Catherine Lu's book Justice and Reconciliation in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Speakers included Arash Abizadeh, Ryoa Chung, Paolo Gilabert, Vincent Pouliot, and the author, Catherine Lu. Find out more...
6 Apr 2018 - Renewing the Relationship between Canada and the Indigenous people
The McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism organized a conversation on the Indigenous issue with Honorable Marc Garneau, Federal Minister of Transport, Member of the Cabinet and MP of the Federal Parliament. Respondent: Raymond Savadogo, O’Brien Fellow, Faculty of Law, McGill University. Find out more...
4 Apr 2018 - Pursuing a career in human rights – O’Brien Fellow in Residence talk by Vicki Prais
O’Brien Fellow in Residence Vicki Prais gave a talk titled Pursuing a career in human rights – All you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Vicki , a London-based human rights lawyer, offered up some candid and personal advice, and shared some of her experiences as a practitioner in the field. Find out more...
16 Mar 2018 - On Spaces and Rights: Refugee Hosting and Settlement Policies in Lebanon and Turkey
Refugee populations are often perceived as an unexpected, disruptive, and temporary burden. This perception often drives countries of asylum to adopt short-term and exclusionary policies regarding refugees’ rights and settlements strategies. This presentation compared refugee hosting and settlements policies in Turkey and in Lebanon. It sought to demonstrate that in Lebanon, restrictive policies, adopted 70 years ago vis-à-vis the Palestinians, are being applied today to Syrian refugees. These policies are based on institutional, social, economic and spatial exclusion.
This panel, with Rouba Al-Salem, Faten Kikano, Semuhi Sinanoğlu and Nandini Ramanujam, highlighted the importance of long-term planning and development strategies for refugees. It examined the benefits of integrative approaches and refugee empowerment for both refugee and host populations. Find out more...
26 Feb 2018 - Law and Lawyering: Inuit Perspectives
Elizabeth Zarpa and Joseph Murdoch-Flowers talked about their personal and professional experience of practicing law in Inuit territories. The discussion was moderated by Professor Sébastien Jodoin. Find out more...
16 Feb 2018 - Non-State Laws in a Modern State Context: Indigenous and Islamic Perspectives
This panel explored the commonalities and divergences in the experiences of Indigenous and Islamic law scholars and participants vis-à-vis the State. The panelists also looked at the multiplicities of Islamic and Indigenous law traditions, and how the State might contend with these complexities. Find out more...
9 Feb 2018 - Disability and Work: Inclusion and Integration in the Labour Market
This event explored the barriers facing people with disabilities when entering the labour market. Find out more...
31 Jan 2018 - Indigenous Rights as Colonialism: UNDRIP and Canada’s Constitution
We welcomed Distinguished Visiting Tomlinson Professor John Borrows for the 2018 John Humphrey Lecture in Human Rights. Find out more...
6 Dec 2017 - Human rights, exploitation and international taxation
An O’Brien Fellows in Residence seminar with Professor Laurens van Apeldoorn (Leiden U., The Netherlands).
Organized in collaboration with the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in the Law of Taxation. Read More
4 Dec 2017 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
29 Nov 2017 - Migration and Climate Change: Legal and Practical Challenges
Join us for a CHRLP/Oppenheimer Chair talk with Steinberg Post-Doctoral Fellow Hanna Haile, who will explore legal and policy responses to address the phenomenon of human movement related to environmental change, including creative interpretation of existing international law.
Read more.
23 Nov 2017 - The Labouring Subject of Refugee Economies
A talk by O'Brien Fellow in Residence Ranabir Samaddar. We share the article he discussed here [.docx]
Read more.
24 Nov 2017 - Henry James’s “Obscure Hurt” - Chronic Pain as Figurative Being
The Disability and Human Right Initiative initiative welcomed Michael Snediker (University of Houston), a well-known poet and a scholar of American literature and disability theory, who examined Henry James’s obscure ordeal of chronic pain in relation to the privative subject of his sexuality.
Read more.
16 Nov 2017 - Canada’s Private and Government Sponsorship of Syrian Refugees: Successes, Challenges, Prospects
The Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law and the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism held a panel on Canada’s Private and Government Sponsorship of Syrian Refugees with Adnan Al Mhamied, Audrey Macklin, Janet Dench, and Sarwat Dalal Bashi. Professor François Crépeau moderated.
Read more.
13 Nov 2017 - Wallenberg Lecture with Supreme Court of Canada Justice Rosalie Abella
This year, the Wallenberg Lecture was given by Judge Rosalie Silberman Abella, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She was introduced by the Hon. Irwin Cotler. Read more. See our Facebook photo album or listen to her talk on SoundCloud.
7 Nov 2017 - Recent Developments in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society & Public Policy and the Centre for Human Rights & Legal Pluralism welcomed Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, Chair of the UN's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Read more.
3 Nov 2017 - Women as Drivers of Solutions in Displacement
Moderated by Sally Armstrong, this conversation between High Commissioner Filippo Grandi and poet-activist Ketty Nivyabandi explored the leadership of women in finding solutions to displacement. Read more.
New (5 December 2017): listen to the recorded talk on SoundCloud.
27 Oct 2017 - Governance of Inclusive Cities: Realization of Disability Rights
The Disability & Law Initiative held their first event this year, which explores disability in the built environment through planning, design and public policy. For this talk, our panellists were McGill Law doctoral candidate Stephanie Chipeur, Jaccède Montréal founder Omar Lachleb, and RAPLIQ president Linda Gauthier. Read more.
20 Oct 2017 - Civil Society at Risk? Three International Perspectives
The Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, in collaboration with the Voices-Voix coalition for civil society, held a public conference on the risks currently faced by civil society with François Crépeau, Françoise Girard and Alex Neve. Read more. You can also view a FB live feed of the talk (warning: low rez and a bit wobbly).
13 Oct 2017 - A Venue for Justice or an Occupation Accomplice? The Israeli High Court of Justice and the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank
The Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and the Oppenheimer Chair in International Law welcomed Rouba Al-Salem, Steinberg postdoctoral fellow in international migration rights and policy (2017-2018), who examined how the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice (HCJ) has interpreted and applied principles of the international law of occupation in adjudicating petitions that were filed by Palestinians. Read more.
18 Sep 2017 - Israel-Palestine: Is it Apartheid, or is a boycott legal and justified?
Professor Robert Wintemute, King's College, London, asked if situation in Israel-Palestine is one of apartheid (racial discrimination in access to citizenship and the right to vote). Read more.
14 Sep 2017 - Is the World Ready for Global Justice?
We recorded the September 14, 2017 panel held with Professor of International Law William Schabas (Middlesex University London), visiting scholar Nidal Jurdi (American University of Beirut), and Professor Frédéric Mégret (McGill Law). Professsor François Crépeau, director of the CHRLP, moderated. You can watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/USqgSi3UQa0
