Movement Lawyering in Times of Rising Authoritariansim
In-person Symposium
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
July 3-5 2024
AN ESSENTIAL CONVERSATION FOR OUR TIMES
We invite you to participate in the “Movement lawyering in times of rising authoritarianism” Symposium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 4, 2024.
The recent pandemic, rising authoritarianism, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, accelerating climate disasters, and migration crises all demonstrate how the conditions for movement lawyers working on the frontlines alongside movements and impacted communities have drastically changed. And yet, the difficulties of the moment have prevented us from doing the vital work of revisiting the analytical and practical lenses through which we are doing our work. This is an attempt to start that conversation.
Hosted by the Global Network of Movement Lawyers at Movement Law Lab, in partnership with Labá - direito, espaço & política (of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Terra de Direitos, the Symposium aims to reflect on how movement lawyers have used law to support social movements in the face of repressive or authoritarian regimes in different global contexts.
Agenda
Wednesday, July 3:
Reception (4pm - 7pm): Framing the conversation: An introduction to movement lawyering and law and political economy + welcome cocktail reception.
Thursday, July 4:
Opening (9am - 9:15am)
Spotlight On Human Rights Defenders(9:15am - 10am): Conversation between 2 human rights defenders from Rio: Mônica Benício (Councilwoman of Rio de Janeiro and Marielle Franco 's widow) & Ana Paula de Oliveira (from Mães de Manguinhos)
Session 1 (10am - 12pm): Roundtable on the rise of authoritarianism under a hegemonic neoliberal order: movement lawyering with resistance struggles in the Global South
Lunch (12pm-1pm)
Session 2 (1pm - 3pm): Land, housing, land and climate struggles as a pathway to new forms of democracy.
Break (3pm - 3:30pm)
Session 3 (3:30pm - 5:30pm): The future of international law: the limits of today’s international legal order and potential future horizons.
Closing (5:30pm-6pm)
Friday, July 5:
Local Visit (12pm - 6pm): Exchange with social movements based in Rio de Janeiro.
Description
All around the world, “movement lawyers” (or whatever term might be used locally to describe lawyers who have a critical approach to using the law in service of social movements and organized communities) are deploying creative tactics on the ground that act as examples of how the law can be used counter-hegemonically to face systemic oppression inherent in our present global political economy. We will weave a discussion of different modes of movement lawyering practice with a grounding in the present conjunctural moment by surfacing stories about how movement lawyers, operating from an analysis of our global political economy, innovate within the law in order to structurally change the system. Given the erosion of democratic norms in a rising number of countries around the world and the increasingly visible cracks in our international legal order, we will discuss how movement lawyers, together with social movements, are meeting this challenging moment by employing legal tactics in defense of democracy, pluralism, land sovereignty and self-determination.
Speakers
We have invited distinguished scholars, activists, organizers and movement lawyers to participate in the discussion. The confirmed speakers include:
1. Alexandra Montgomery: Program Director at Anistia Internacional Brasil, Brazil (read bio)
2. Ana Paula de Oliveira: Founder of Mães de Manguinhos, Brazil (read bio)
3. Auricélia Arapiuns: Leader of the Arapium people, President of the Deliberative Council of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Coordinator of the Steering Committee of the National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands (PNEGATI), Brazil (read bio)
4. Bethania Assy: Philosophy of Law Professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), and at State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil (read bio)
5. Camila Gomes: Coordinator of International Advocacy and Litigation, Terra de Direitos, Brazil (read bio)
6. Diego Morales: Litigation Director, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Argentina (read bio)
7. Diala Shamas: Senior Staff Attorney, CCR, USA (read bio)
8. Dmitri Holtzman: Education Justice and Youth organizer (read bio)
9. Eleonora Mesquita Ceia: Professor of Law, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil (read bio)
10. Felipe Mesel: Global Programs Manager at Movement Law Lab, Argentina (read bio)
11. Fernanda Ferreira Pradal: Professor of Criminology and Human Rights, researcher at the Human Rights Center and Restorative Justice facilitator at the Legal Practice Center, Law Department, PUC-Rio, Brazil (read bio)
12. Jomary Ortegón: President of Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR), Colombia (read bio)
13. Júlia Ávila Franzoni: Professor of Law, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and Coordinator of Labá - direito, espaço & política, Brazil (read bio)
14. Kranti LC: Movement lawyer and former Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), India (read bio)
15. Luana Varejão: Coordinator and movement lawyer at the Centro Popular de Direitos Humanos, Pernambuco, and member of the "Despejo Zero" Campaign, Brazil (read bio)
16. Luciana Pivato: Movement lawyer and Human Rights Defenders, Brazil (read bio)
17. Marina Dos Santos: MST state representative in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (read bio)
18. Marlene Rodríguez Atriano: Semi-senior Transnational Justice Lawyer at ProDESC, Mexico (read bio)
19. Meena Jagannath: Director of Global Programs at Movement Law Lab, Coordinator of the Global Network of Movement Lawyers, USA (read bio)
20. Miguel Ruiz Díaz-Reixa: Lawyer, Observatori DESCA, Spain (read bio)
21. Mônica Benício: Urbanist, feminist, councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, widow of Marielle Franco, Brazil (read bio)
22. Pamela Spees: Senior Staff Attorney, CCR, USA (read bio)
23. Pepe Julian Onziema: Ugandan LGBT rights & human rights defender, and Director of Programs at the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) (read bio)
24. Silvia Souza: President of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of the Brazilian Bar Association, Brazil (read bio)
25. Virgínia Totti Guimarães: Professor of Law at PUC-Rio, with research in socio-environmental rights, Brazil (read bio)
