Online Webinar
Summary:Public forum discussing the topic: What can law and lawyers do about people on the move and seeking refuge in Australia and around the world because of conflict, human rights breaches, or climate change?
Presenter(s):
- Sonia Caton, Migrant Resource Centre
- Tim McCormack, UTAS
- Tamara Wood, UTAS
What can law and lawyers do about people on the move and seeking refuge in Australia and around the world because of conflict, human rights breaches, or climate change? We have experts on migration law, climate change and displacement of people, and international law, so expect a broad ranging discussion-not limited to lawyers-exploring legal strategies, advocacy, and taking ideas into the community.
This is a special session of the Faculty of Law's Engaging Tales conversations series that aims to provide opportunities for students and staff to hear first-hand from lawyers and activists who work to provide justice for vulnerable and marginalised people.
About the presenters
Sonia Caton is an immigration lawyer, sessional academic and non-executive director. She sits on the board of the Migrant Resource Centre, Tasmania and other not for profits and is a past Chair of the Refugee Council of Australia. She is a former Director and Principal Solicitor of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service in Brisbane (RAILS) and the driving force behind the establishment of a free Salvos Humanitarian Legal Asylum Seeker Legal Clinic in Brisbane. She serves on the Access to Justice and Immigration Specialist Accreditation Committees for the Qld Law Society, Migration Institute of Australia committees and has contributed to texts such as the Qld Lawyers Practice Manual and the Immigration Kit. She also works on the SBS/IES Cultural Atlas and Diversity and Inclusion Training Programs.
Tim McCormack is the former Dean of the UTAS Law School and the Special Adviser on International Humanitarian Law to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Tim has a distinguished academic career as a teacher, researcher and writer, as well as many different kinds of practical experience in international law, for example in treaty-making (Chemical Weapons Convention and the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court); war crimes trials (Milosevic Trial at the UN international Criminal Tribunal for FYI; the trial of David Hicks by the US Military Commission; ADF soldiers in Afghanistan by Military Court-Martial); the national implementation of international law obligations, and extradition cases involving international crimes.
Tamara Wood is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Tasmania and a Visiting Fellow at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW. She is an internationally recognised expert on refugee protection and displacement in the context of natural hazards, disasters and climate change. He research focuses on Africa, but also encompasses a broader range of topics relating to the protection of forced migrants. Tamara is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Platform on Disaster Displacement, a Research Affiliate at the Refugee Law Initiative, University of London and a number of other research centres. Prior to academic work,Tamara worked for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
Jan Linehan hosts the series Engaging Tales of Social Justice and is co-convenor of the Climate Justice Network at the Faculty of Law. She has a background as international lawyer and negotiator.
Open to all students and staff and the public. This session is supported by the Climate Justice Network and is part of the Global Climate Change Week (19-25 October), but will cover a range of migration and human rights issues.
Joining details
Join Zoom Webinar
https://utas.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_q0fBhgPRTCC9vzz1lXQZRQ
Meeting ID: 822 4759 3864
Join by an H.323/SIP room system:
H.323: 113.197.7.150 or 113.197.7.201
SIP: 82247593864@113.197.7.150 or 82247593864@113.197.7.201
