[The Elders Series] Advancing Access to Justice: What will it take to be ‘Generation Equality’?

Justice is a fundamental human right, and is critical in ensuring that other human rights are upheld. When women and girls do not have access to justice, it undermines progress to achieving gender equality.

The Sustainable Development Goals agreed on by all countries in 2015 include specific goals to achieve gender equality and to provide access to justice for all, yet, five billion people around the world still do not have meaningful access to justice – most of whom are women and girls.

While progress has been made, no country in the world has yet achieved true gender equality and equal access to justice. In this episode, hosts Hazami Barmada and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland, former UN High-Commissioner For Human Rights and Chair of The Elders) are joined by fellow Elder and pioneering human rights lawyer, Hina Jilani, to explore the intersection of access to justice and gender equality. 

What is meaningful access to justice? How does it relate to advancing women and girl’s rights around the world, and what are the barriers hindering our progress? We unpack how global platforms such as the Beijing Declaration and the Generation Equality Forum help drive action and accountability for women’s rights, and better understand how we can build more political will to ensure gender equality is achieved. 

Speaker Biographies:

Hina Jilani is a member of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.

Hina Jilani is a pioneering lawyer and human rights defender. As an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, she has conducted many landmark cases setting new human rights standards in the country. She created Pakistan’s first all-women law firm and co-founded Pakistan’s first legal aid centre. She also founded its national Human Rights Commission and the Women's Action Forum, a prominent pressure group at the heart of Pakistan's democracy movement. She was the first Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders from 2000 to 2008. Hina Jilani currently serves as President of the World Organisation Against Torture, co-chair of the World Refugee Council and co-chair of the Task Force on Justice.

Mary Robinson is former President of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.

Mary Robinson was the first woman President of Ireland (1990–1997) and is a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2002). A tireless advocate for justice, she was President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative from 2002 to 2010. Mary Robinson served as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa from 2013-2014, stepping down in July 2014 to take up the post of Special Envoy for Climate Change. She continued in this post until the end of December 2015 which saw the successful conclusion of the COP21 Climate Summit and the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In 2016, Mary Robinson served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate.

Hazami Barmada is the Founder & CEO of Humanity Lab Foundation and co-Executive Producer & Host Finding Humanity Podcast.

Hazami is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and public affairs and social impact expert recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for many leading global brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Aspen Institute, and the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Among her posts at the United Nations, she served as the Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit, an Advisor to the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Envoy, as a member of the United Nations SDG Strategy Hub for the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Hazami has a Masters from Harvard University where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology. Twitter: @hazamibarmada

This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media, in collaboration with The Elders.

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