Social Justice in Asia Pacific Region

The first Global Alliance for Justice Education (GAJE) Regional Conference is being held at the University of Sydney on 9-11 December 2002. The theme of the conference is Social Justice in the Asia-Pacific and the three conference streams will focus on refugees, HIV/AIDS and access to justice in developing countries, and indigenous justice.

GAJE brings together legal academics, law students, legal practitioners, community groups and advocates from the Asia-Pacific region to share their ideas, policies and experiences and establish a basis for future collaboration and co-operation.

Members of GAJE Australasia are organising this regional conference in partnership with Kingsford Legal Centre, staff and students at the Law Faculties of the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales, and the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney.

The conference brings together some high profile speakers in the area of human rights and social justice.

Julian Burnside QC, from the Australian Advocacy Institute is well known for his work supporting asylum seekers, he is the patron of Australians for Just refugee Programs and has acted as legal counsel for the Woomera escapees and for Liberty Victoria in relation to the Tampa asylum seekers.

Professor Karen Tokarz, from Washington University Law School (USA) has directed the Washington University in St Louis Law School Clinical Education Program since 1980. She is a past chair of the Association of American Law Schools Clinical Education Section and past president of the Clinical Legal Education Association (U.S.). She is an honorary member of the American Board of Trial Advocacy, a regional project director for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), and a member of the Standards Review Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar for 2000-2003.

She is a leader in both national and international clinical education, as well
as an expert in civil rights mediation and the law of employment
discrimination.

Aniceto Guterres, is Chairman, of the East Timor Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation and is the Director of the well-known human rights NGO Yayasan HAK (Human Rights Foundation) since 1997, of which he was a co-founder.

He is a human rights practitioner and lawyer by profession. He is highly active in the promotion of justice in East Timor. He has served on the UNTAET Judicial Transitional Services Commission since January 2000, and was a founder of the Jurists Association of East Timor in April 2000.

Conference speakers include:

Professor Larissa Behrendt, Director, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), University of Technology, Bomal Gonapa, Policy and Legal Advisor, National Aids Council Secretariat, Papua New Guinea
Patrick Harricknen, Human Rights Advocate and Constitutional Lawyer, Papua New Guinea
Chaitanya Lakshman, Manager, Complaints Division, Fiji Human Rights Commission
Associate Professor Les McCrimmon, Director of Clinical Programs, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney
Eileen Pittaway, Director, Centre for Refugee Research, NSW
Federal Magistrate Kenneth Raphael, Federal Magistrates Service, Australia
Drew Roberts, Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council
John Rock, International Convenor, National Association of People Living with
HIV/AIDS
Professor Abbe Smith, Associate Director, Criminal Justice Clinic,Georgetown
University, USA
Dr Mary Crock, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney

More information on the conference program and registration forms can be obtained by sending us an e-mail to probono@probonoaustralia.com.au.