Monika Mehta, former Program Director for Community-Inclusive Development, chaired a lunch time panel session on the role of lawyers in ensuring access to remedy at UN Forum on Business and Human Rights.
The panel sponsored by the International Senior Lawyers Project discussed how lawyers might advise their clients including civil society, community, government, and corporations, throughout the lifespan of large-scale, internationally financed, development projects in order to ensure community’s access to appropriate remedy for current and future harms. As the role of business in ensuring human rights in investment and core operations continues to increase, legal professionals will be needed to facilitate the prevention of, and remedy to, harm.
Kindra Mohr, Policy Director for Accountability Counsel; Rocio Paniagua, Senior Legal Advisor for the International Bar Association; and Yasmin Batliwala, Chief Executive, Advocates for International Development will speak about their experience as lawyers in the development finance process.
Lawyers are present at every stage of a development project, and can provide strategic advice, prepare evidence and communications, gain access to critical information, and help prepare local communities for the possibility of litigation, mediation, or other non-judicial remedy mechanisms. Lawyers can also help structure and establish negotiations and grievances mechanisms, routes through which community members can seek remedy prior to the escalation of harms. The panel explored the critical role of legal professionals in ensuring that human rights are protected in international development investment.