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Kenya ’ s Encampment Case

Kenya ’ s Encampment Case. Implications for Regional and Global Refugee Protection Jessica Therkelsen, Esq. August 19, 2013. Defining Impact Litigation.

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Kenya ’ s Encampment Case

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  1. Kenya’s Encampment Case Implications for Regional and Global Refugee Protection Jessica Therkelsen, Esq. August 19, 2013

  2. Defining Impact Litigation A litigation method that can cause significant changes in law, practice or public awareness by bringing carefully-selected cases to court.

  3. Defining Impact Litigation The plaintiff(s): victims of human rights abuses that are suffered by many other people. Impact litigation focuses on an individual case in order to bring about social change for a larger group.

  4. Litigation Shapes our World US Supreme Court: • Desegregation of schools • The right to marry a person of another race • The right to defense counsel for the indigent

  5. Background &Timeline

  6. Larger Implications • When and how to effectively use litigation • Considerations and risks • Roles of various stakeholders • Necessary training and capacity building

  7. When is Litigation Useful • Stopping human rights violations • Protecting vulnerable populations • Instilling a human rights discussion into political decision making

  8. Risks of Impact Litigation

  9. Risks • Generating “bad” law • Generating result that shifts behavior to a different, possibly worse outcome • Creating a permanent adversarial relationship with a government

  10. Considerations • Is there a strong judicial system in place? • Have alternatives to litigation been explored? • Do judges, lawyers and other litigation participants have the training to analyze and apply international refugee and human rights law?

  11. Important Roles

  12. Important Roles

  13. Training and Capacity • Judges • must understand and know how to apply international, regional and domestic refugee/human rights law • Legal aid NGOs or pro bono attorneys • must have a strong grasp on refugee/human rights law • need the support of other NGO and IGO actors

  14. Litigation Roundtable Participants • Daly & Associates, Hong Kong • Immigration and Refugee Rights Clinic, College of Law and Business, Israel • Lawyers for Human Rights, South Africa • Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, Australia • HIAS, Ukraine • Asylum Access, Ecuador

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