The Asma Jahangir Conference 2018
will be held on 13 & 14 October 2018 at Avari Hotel in Lahore.#AJCONF2018
Justice for Empowerment
13th October, 2018 – Day 1
Inauguration : Seating 09:30 AM
“Remembering Asma”AGHS and the Way Forward
Registration
09:00AM – 10:00 AM
MARQUEE PAVILION
Theme A: Protection of Fundamental Rights
10:00 AM– 12:30 PM
Moderators:
Mr. Azam Nazir Tarar (Advocate Supreme Court and former Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council)
Mr. Abid Saqi (Advocate Supreme Court and former President Lahore High Court Bar Association)
Ms. Sulema Jahangir (Advocate High Court, Daughter of Asma Jahangir)
Short Film on Asma Jahangir – Courtesy Right Livelihood Award
Speakers:
Mr. I.A. Rehman (Former Secretary General Human Rights Commission of Pakistan)
Mr. Ahsan Bhoon (Advocate Supreme Court Pakistan)
Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Pannu (President Lahore High Court Bar Association)
Mr. Pir Kaleem Khurshid (President Supreme Court Bar Association)
Mr. Kamran Murtaza (Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council)
Ms. Kamla Bhasin (Activist and Poet, India)
Ms. Orzala Nemat (Activist and Scholar, Afghanistan)
HE Jean-François Cautain (Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan)
Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG (former Judge High Court Australia)
Hon Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar
12:30 PM – 02:00 PM
LUNCH
02:00 PM – 03:00 PM
Strengthening Democracy and Rule of Law
Moderator: Mr. Rashid Rahman (Senior Journalist)
Speakers:
Mr. Fawad Chaudhry (Federal Information Minister, Pakistan)
Ms. Nafisa Shah (Parliamentarian, Pakistan)
Mr. Jakhongir Khaydarov (Programme Manager Strengthening Rule of Law UNDP)
Ms. Bushra Gohar (Former Parliamentarian, Pakistan)
Mr. Ahmed Tholal (Former Vice President, Human Rights Commission, Maldives)
03:00 PM – 04:30 PM
Independence of Judiciary and the legal profession including the Role of the Bar
Moderator: Mr. Mansoor Usman Awan (Advocate Supreme Court)
Speakers:
Mr. Ehsan Wyne (Advocate Supreme Court)
Mr. Jakhongir Khaydarov (Programme Manager Strengthening Rule of Law UNDP)
Mr. Akhter Hussein (Member Pakistan Bar Council)
Hon. Mr. Tanweer Ikram (Deputy Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) for England & Wales)
Mr. Munir A. Malik (Former Attorney General Pakistan)
Mr. Ali Ahmed Kurd (Former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association)
04:30 PM – 05:30 PM
RESOLUTIONS, CLOSING REMARKS AND TEA
Closing Remarks
“REMEMBERING ASMA”
“THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC VALUES”
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbassi
Moderators for Resolutions:
Mr. Ali Dayan Hasan (Senior Policy Adviser to UNDP Pakistan and author of UNDP’s forthcoming report on political mapping of Pakistan’s transgender population, and former Pakistan Director for Human Rights Watch)
Ms. Mehmal Sarfraz (Print and Broadcast Journalist)
KHURSHID MAHAL
Theme B: Mainstreaming Gender
02:00 PM – 03:00 PM
Empowering Women in the Criminal Justice System including the legal profession
Moderator: Ms. Mehmal Sarfraz (Print and Broadcast Journalist)
Speakers:
Ms. Samina Ahmed (Project Director International Crisis Group)
Mr. Salman Sufi (Former director general of Punjab’s Strategic Reforms Unit and Senior Member of the Special Monitoring Unit on Law and Order)
Mr. Faisal Chaudhry (Advocate Supreme Court)
Ms. Rafia Qaseem Baig (Law Enforcement-Bomb Disposal Unit)
Ms. Rukhshanda Naz (Executive Director, Legal Aid and Awareness Services Peshawar and former CEO of Aurat Foundation)
03:00 PM – 04:30 PM
KEYNOTE Speaker: Gender Equality and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development – How close are we? (Sweden and Canada’s feminist foreign policy)
Charting Progress and Identifying Critical Reforms for Pakistan in relation to Global Goals for Equality
Keynote by HE Annika Ben David (Sweden’s Ambassador at large for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law)
Moderator: Ms. Roshanah Zafar (Founder Kashf Foundation Microfinance Institution)
Speakers:
Ms. Christine Chung (Geneva Human Rights Officer-OHCHR)
Ms. Kamla Bhasin (Indian Activist, Author and Social Scientist)
Ms. Sulema Jahangir (Advocate High Court and Hon. Executive Director AGHS)
Mr. Abid Suleri (Social Policy Analyst –Executive Director SDPI)
Mr. Jamshed Kazi (Country Representative – UN Women)
DINSHAW HALL
Theme C: Freedom of Expression and Shrinking Spaces For Dissent
02:00 PM – 03:00 PM
Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression for Youth and Students
Moderator: Dr. Ammar Ali Jan (Activist and Professor at Forman Christian College Lahore)
Speakers:
Dr. A.H. Nayyar (Pakistani Physicist and anti-nuclear activist)
Ms. Alia Amir Ali (Political Activist and Writer)
Ms. Salima Hashmi (Former Principal National College of Arts and Council Member Human Rights Commission of Pakistan)
Dr. Taimur Rahman (Professor, Lahore University of Management Sciences, political activist and singer)
Dr. Neelam Hussain (Educationist – Lahore Grammar School)
Mr. Arieb Azhar (Musician and Culture Promoter)
03:00 PM – 04:30 PM
Freedom of Expression and Shrinking Spaces for Dissent
Moderator: Mr. Hamid Mir (Senior Print and Broadcast Journalist, Pakistan)
Speakers:
Mr. Steven Butler (Asia Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists)
Ms. Dilrukshi Handunnetti (Senior Associate Editor at Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd and Lawyer)
Mr. Siddharth Vardarajan (Indian-American Journalist, Editor, and Academic; Former Editor of the Hindu)
Ms. Farzana Ali (Journalist, Pakistan)
HE Jean-François Cautain (Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan)
Hon. Justice Jawad Hassan (Judge High Court Lahore)
Mr. Kanak Mani Dixit (Nepali Publisher, Editor and Writer; the Founder of the magazine Himal South-Asian and Co-Founder of Himalmedia)
INDUS HALL
Theme C: Freedom of Expression and Shrinking Spaces For Dissent
03:00 PM – 04:30 PM
Cyber Laws and Protection of Human Rights
Moderator: Ms. Nighat Dad (Lawyer and Digital Rights Activist)
Speakers:
Mr. Asif Nazrul (Professor of Law, University of Dhaka)
Ms. Farieha Aziz (Journalist, Pakistan)
Mr. Badar Khushnood (Co-Founder Bramerz Digital Agency)
Ms. Angbeen Atif Mirza (Lawyer and Academic)
14th October, 2018 – Day 2
Registration
09:30 AM – 10:30 AM
MARQUEE PAVILION
Theme A: Protection of Fundamental Rights
Theme E: Justice for All and Impunity for None
10:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Adopting International Human Rights Norms in Domestic Law – Australia and England
Moderator: Ms. Sulema Jahangir (Advocate High Court)
Keynotes by:
Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG (Former Justice of the High Court of Australia and a renowned International Human Rights Expert)
Ms. Kirsty Birmelow QC (Chair of Human Rights Bar Committee, England & Wales)
11:30 PM – 12:30 PM
Constitutionalism and challenges – the 18th Amendment and Implementation
Moderator: Mr. Salman Akram Raja (Advocate Supreme Court)
Speakers:
Mr. Farhatullah Babar (Former Senator, Pakistan)
Mr. Akhter Hussein (Advocate Supreme Court and Member Pakistan Bar Council)
Mr. Afrasiab Khattak (Former Senator, Pakistan)
Mr. Hasil Bizenjo (Former Minister for Maritime Affairs)
Mr. Malik Rafique Rajwana (Former Governor Punjab and Advocate Supreme Court)
Mr. Taj Haider (Former Senator, Pakistan)
12:30 PM – 01:30 PM
Death Penalty & Deterrence – Who are we Hanging?
Moderator: Ms. Munizae Jahangir (Senior Broadcast and Print Journalist)
Speakers:
Hon. Justice Shehram Sarwar Ch (Honourable Justice of the Lahore High Court)
Mr. Rana Maqbool (Senator PMLN & Former IG Punjab)
Mr. Kamran Arif (Council Member Human Rights Commission of Pakistan)
Mr. Zaved Mahmood (Human Rights and Drug Policy Advisor, UN)
Mr. Azam Nazir Tarar (Former Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council)
Hon. Dr. Muhammad Shoaib Suddle (President International Police Association Pakistan Section and former Wafaki Tax Mohtasib)
DIG Humayun Bashir Tarar (Senior Police Official Pakistan)
01:30 PM – 03:00 PM
LUNCH
03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
Rise of Religious Fundamentalism in South Asia and Overview of challenges to the rights of religious minorities
Moderator: Mr. Hassan Niazi (Advocate High Courts Pakistan)
Speakers:
Mr. Zahid Hussein (Senior Journalist and Analyst Pakistan)
Dr. Farooq Sulehria (Academic and Lecturer Pakistan)
Ms. Kamla Bhasin (Writer, poet and activist, India)
Dr. Arfana Mallah (Assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sindh)
Dr. Nimalka Fernando (Attorney at Law and Women’s Rights Activist, Sri Lanka)
Mr. Peter Jacob (Executive Director, Centre for Social Justice)
04:00 PM – 05:00 PM
Resolutions and Closing Remarks
Mr. Farooq Tariq (Spokesperson Awami Workers Party)
Barrister Hamid Azim Leghari (Advocate High Court Pakistan)
05:00 PM – 05:30 PM
Closing Speeches
Moderator: Ms. Munizae Jahangir (Senior Broadcast and Print Journalist)
Mr. Afrasiab Khattak (Former Senator, Pakistan)
Mr. Ayaz Sadiq (Former Speaker National Assembly Pakistan)
Ms. Shireen Mazari (Minister Human Rights, Pakistan)
Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (Chairperson Pakistan People’s Party and Parliamentarian)
DINSHAW HALL
Theme C: Freedom of Expression and Shrinking Spaces for Dissent
Theme D: Challenges to Implementing Rights Legislation
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Bonded Labour: Prevalence in South Asia and Reforms and the Protection of Trade Unions and their right to freedom of expression and assembly – safeguards to protect this constitutional right
Moderator: Taimur Rahman (Professor, Lahore University of Management Sciences, political activist and singer)
Speakers:
Mr. Farooq Tariq (Spokesperson Person Awami Workers Party)
Mr. Karamat Ali (Director, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research)
Mr. Sushovan Dhar (Trade Union Activist India)
Ms. Rubina Jamil (President, All Pakistan Workers Confederation)
Mr. Mehmood Butt (Secretary General – Pakistan Brick Kiln Workers Union)
Dr. Lal Khan (President, Pakistan Trade Unions Defense Campaign)
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
The need for FATA and PATA reforms; challenges to access to justice and implementation of new laws
Moderator: Kamran Arif
Speakers:
Ms. Mariam Bibi (CEO Khwendo Kor)
Mr. Latif Afridi (Advocate Supreme Court Pakistan)
Mr. Sher Mohammad (Advocate Supreme Court Pakistan)
Mr. Salman Afridi (Advocate High Court Pakistan)
Mr. Ali Wazir (Parliamentarian, Pakistan)
12:30 PM – 01:30 PM
South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) – “Reclaiming the Regional Solidarity”
Speakers:
Mr. I.A. Rehman (HRCP)
Dr. Nimalka Fernando (Attorney at Law and Women’s Rights Activist, Sri Lanka)
Ms. Kamla Bhasin (India)
Mr. Kanak Mani Dixit (Nepal)
Mr. Farooq Tariq (Member International Organising Committee, Asia Europe Peoples Forum, AEPF)
01:30 PM – 03:00 PM
LUNCH
03:00 PM– 04:00 PM
Electoral reforms – Post Elections 2018
Moderator: Ms. Nasim Zehra
Speakers:
Ms. Bushra Gouhar (Former Parliamentarian, Pakistan)
Mr. Ali Zafar (Former Federal Law and Information Minister)
Ms. Shazia Marri (Parliamentarian, Pakistan People’s Party)
Mr. Fahad Malik (Senior Partner Minto and Mirza, Advocate High Court)
Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob (President at Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency – PILDAT)
Dr. Farooq Sattar (Former Parliamentarian Pakistan)
Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad (Former Parliamentarian Pakistan People’s Party)
KHURSHID MAHAL
Theme A: Protection of Fundamental Rights
Theme E: Justice for All and Impunity for None
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Legal Frameworks in South Asia for the Protection of Refugees and Migrants
Moderator: Ms. Nilofer Afridi Qazi (Public policy Specialist)
Speakers:
Ms. Samina Ahmed (Project Director International Crisis Group)
Mr. Igor Ivancic (UNHCR Representative)
Ms. Muna Baig (Director Human Rights Commission of Pakistan)
Dr. Sabiha Syed (CEO of Migration Institute and former UNESCO)
Ms. Aisha Ahmad (PHD Researcher Oxford University and Academic)
Mr. Ammar Ali Jan (Activist and Professor at Forman Christian College Lahore)
12:30 PM – 01:30 PM
Protecting Human Rights Defenders
Moderator: Khushal Khattak (Coordinator North Pakistan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan)
Speakers:
Ms. Kirsty Brimelow QC (Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee, England)
Mr. Rukhsan Fernando (Human Rights Activist Sri Lanka)
Mr. Farhatullah Babar (Former Senator, Pakistan)
Hon Justice Ali Baqar Najfi (Honourable Judge, High Court Lahore)
01:30 PM – 03:00 PM
LUNCH
03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
Legislative Priorities for the New Parliament – Implementing Women Friendly Legislation – Pakistan
Moderator: Anis Haroon (Former Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women)
Key Note Speaker: Ms. Shireen Mazari (Minister of Human Rights of Pakistan)
Speakers:
Ms. Fauzia Viqar (Chairperson, Punjab Council for the Status of Women)
Ms. Bushra Gohar (Former Parliamentarian, Pakistan)
Ms. Farwa Zafar (Rule of Law – Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
Dr. Parvaiz Hassan (Senior Partner, Hassan and Hassan)
Ms. Khawar Mumtaz (Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women)
KUNHAR HALL
Theme A: Protection of Fundamental Rights
Theme E: Justice for All and Impunity for None
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
The Third Gender and challenges to mainstreaming in the justice system & law enforcement agencies
Moderator: Mr.Ali Dayan Hasan (Senior Policy Adviser to UNDP Pakistan and author of UNDP’s forthcoming report on political mapping of Pakistan’s transgender population, and former Pakistan Director for Human Rights Watch)
Speakers:
Ms. Jannat Ali (Transgender Activist)
Ms. Mehlab Jameel (Grassroots Community Organizer and Researcher)
Ms. Sarah Sohail (Feminist Activist and Lawyer)
Mr. Aun Shahid (Activist and Teacher)
03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
Sexual Harassment against Women at Workplace
Moderator: Sheharbano Khan ( Writer and Journalist)
Speakers:
Ms. Shahnaz Huda (Professor at Department of Law, Dhaka University)
Ms. Hameeda Bano (Senior Police Official Peshawar)
Malik Arshad (President Lahore Bar Association)
Dr. Anoush Chaudhry (Senior Police Official Lahore)
Ms. Shreen Abdul Saroor (Co-founder of Mannar Women’s Development Federation (MWDF) and Women’s Action Network, Sri Lanka)