HagueTalks

The word ecocide has become better known as more people are experiencing the effects of the climate crisis. The increase in climate disasters is one element, but grassroots organisations advocating for environmental justice have also been key, explains Jojo Mehta in this episode. She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International and was invited to take part in the Hague Justice Week 2023’s event “How to achieve environmental justice?”. Besides some key messages from that stage you will hear her thoughts on how ecocide can lead to broader environmental justice and why the Hague as the heart of international law has a relevance when discussing this concept.

If you thought of data as objective, listen to Gülşen Güler discuss all the biases that we should look out for when collecting and utilising datasets. Gülşen is the Research Director for Civic Software Foundation and one of the Young Justice Leader for Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a group focusing on the UN sustainable development goal 16+. Gülşen talks about her develpment and how that sparked her interest for data and digitalisation. She explains how data is socially constructed and how keeping that in mind is key when making decisions based on data, if we do not want to replicate and amplify current power imbalances. Justice data and data justice are also key component in this conversation and you will hear from Gülşen why “there is no justice without data justice”. 

What does it take to fight corruption in Ukraine? Levan Duchidze is the country manager for Ukraine of the International Development Law Organisation IDLO and he has been working to counter corruption in the country. He talks about the difficulties in going against powerful people who in Ukraine are widely represented by oligarchs, but he also emphasises the need to keep working on the anticorruption fight in order to also advance in the physical war initiated by Russia. With his long activity in the politics of his homecountry Georgia, Levan sheds light on what can be learnt from the journey to lift a country out of the infamous position of one of the most corrupted countries in the world. Speaking in the Hague, Levan also discusses the role this city can play in supporting Ukraine’s own journey. 

In this episode of HagueTalks, Fatsah Ouguergouz, the director of the African Institute of International Law, discusses his work advancing the rule of law in the African continent and the challenges he faces. Coming to the Hague Justice Week with a group of African judges, Fatsah shares their experience entering the Intenational Court of Justice for the first time. But he also looks back at his family history, moving from Algeria to France, and at his childhood and how that shaped his career.

Meet honorable judge Amina Augie, judge of the supreme court of Nigeria. With a 40 year long experience in law, Judge Augie talks about how she became one of the first women in the Supreme Court of Nigeria and what obstacles are in the way to achieve parity. In September she will give her retirement speech and she discusses what issues she wants to raise there. But despite her long career, Judge Augie’s passion for the job is still all there and so it is her hope that more people will take inspiration from it. And this passion for international law is also what she keeps closest from her multiple visits to the Hague.

Revai Aalbaek is the Senior Advisor for Security and Justice for the United Nations Development Program crisis bureau. She unpacks what her job is really about and what are the obstacles still in place for women to enter or rise to the top of the justice system. And she looks back at her upbringing in Zimbawe and how that shaped her career up. As the  UNDP is opening a new office in The Hague, Revai explains how being present in the city of justice can be an added value and open new opportunities.

Meet Yanhui Peng, Director at LGBT Rights Advocacy China and Program Coordinator at Chinese Initiative on International Law. Yanhui discusses his personal experience being a gay man in China and how families and the wider society think about LGBTQ people. He also talks about his work pushing LGBTQ rights forward with the use of the law. Now living in the Hague, he reflects on how the justice system here is playing a role on his work and how he can support the Chinese queer community in the Netherlands and China.

What does it mean to be a journalist in Colombia? Cindy Morales was born and raised in Bogota and now works for El Spectador, where she covered first the conflict between paramilitary and state groups and guerrilla fighters, and now the efforts to seek accountability and justice in Colombia. Cindy talks about her background, what are the struggles for women journalists and how transitional justice could turn the tide in Colombia. And what Colombia and the Hague can learn from each others. 

Meet Vishal Prasad of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change. He’s a dedicated campaigner and proud to have got the world’s states to request the International Court of Justice for an opinion on climate change. Will states be galvanised into action? How is the climate emergency already affecting his native country Fiji? And, what’s his favourite day? Check out the new Hague Talks podcast for a great chat with Vishal Prasad on Climate Justice