Just Access

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan, who is the Director of Climate Justice at Oxfam USA. In this first part of our conversation, we speak about his interest in human rights, specifically socioeconomic human rights, and his career so far, including a current focus on climate change strategic litigation. In the second part of our conversation, we will talk more ab...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of continuing the conversation with two fabulous guests who I've been talking about climate protest in the Netherlands, Germany, and beyond in our previous episode. One of our guests is Mirjam Hermann, a climate activist and law student. Our second guest is Juanita van Lunen, an attorney at The Hague working on criminal law and demonstration rights. In this se...

In this episode, join host Dr Miranda Melcher as we delve into the fraught and controversial world of climate change protests, with expert guests Juanita van Lunen , an attorney based in The Hague, where she specialises in criminal law and demonstration rights in the Netherlands, and Mirjam Herrmann, a climate activist and law student in Germany, and member of the association Rückendeckung für ein...

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Dr Miranda Melcher, discussing her recently published book about peace treaties and how to improve outcomes coming out of civil wars. Last time we talked a bit about how I got into this research and some of the main findings of the book and today we go into more detail and discuss ways in which this links to access to justice. If you would like to...

In this episode, we have something special for you. We have placed our podcast host, Dr. Miranda Melcher, on the other side of the microphone, to allow our audience to get to know her and her academic work better. Dr Melcher is interviewed by Nalenhle Moyo, the new Donor and Communication Specialist at Just Access. Dr. Melcher recently published a book titled Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambiqu...

Join host Dr Miranda Melcher in this compelling episode of Just Access as she sits down with acclaimed writer and editor Jocelyn Zuckerman to discuss her groundbreaking book, Planet Palm . Published in 2021, this exposé delves into the environmental and social abuses rampant in the global palm oil industry. Key Highlights: Learn About Palm Oil: Learn about the ubiquitous palm oil, its origins, and...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of continuing the conversation with Donatella Rovera, who is Senior Crisis Response Advisor at Amnesty International.  For more than 20 years, she has been a key member of Amnesty's on the ground investigative efforts in war, crisis, and other situations of human rights abuse. Listen to this episode as Donatella discusses insights from her career, includi...

In this episode, Dr Miranda Melcher, Senior Legal Fellow at Just Access, engages in a profound conversation with Donatella Rovera , Senior Crisis Response Advisor at Amnesty International. With her extensive experience in investigating human rights abuses in conflict zones such as Gaza, Syria, and Iraq, Donatella provides an in-depth look into the complexities and risks involved in her work. Key H...

In this episode, we have an extra special interview about the just-decided European Court of Human Rights cases on climate change. We have an incredible expert with us to help us understand these decisions that came out just a few hours ago by the time of the recording.  Judge Professor Helen Keller is Chair of International and Public Law at the University of Zurich, and a member of the Bosnian C...

In this episode, we get to talk to Amy Kaslow.  She is a writer and photographer with a lens on at-risk societies worldwide. She's spent the past four decades writing, broadcasting, and photographing in the world's trouble spots, chronicling the immediate aftermath of conflict and well into the post-war period. She also does work within the United States, as well as with art and informat...

In this episode, we have the opportunity to speak to Dunja Mijatović, the outgoing Commissioner for Human Rights for the Council of Europe, a position she served in from 2018 to 2024. Listen to this episode to find out about her thoughts on the position and the state of human rights in Europe today. Enjoy listening! Don’t forget to rate us, recommend us and share on social media! Support the Show....

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Professor Fernand de Varennes, who has just finished serving as the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and is currently a visiting professor at the Université Catholique de Lyon and the University of Sarajevo. Our discussion in this episode builds on our conversation from the previous episode when we discussed the role of Special Rapporteur...

In this episode, we get the opportunity to speak to Professor Fernand de Varennes, who just finished his role of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, and served from 2017 to 2023. Professor Fernand de Varennes is currently visiting professor at the Université Catholique at Lyon and at the University of Sarajevo. In this first episode, we focus on the role of Special Rapporteur and...

In this episode, we speak to Dr. Marina Aksenova. She's a professor of comparative and international criminal law at the IE University in Madrid. In this discussion, we go over her research background, her research interests that bring together not just international criminal law as is traditionally thought of, but many more aspects as well, and talk about gaps she sees in the international j...

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Nani Jansen Reventlow, who is an award-winning human rights lawyer specializing in strategic litigation at the intersection of human rights, social justice, and technology. Our discussion in this episode builds on our conversation in the previous episode, where we discussed Nani's background and her current work at systemic justice. In this e...

Over the next two episodes, we talk to Nani Jansen Reventlow who is an award winning human rights lawyer specializing in strategic litigation at the intersection of human rights, social justice, and technology. In this first episode, we focus on her background and the organization she's founded called Systemic Justice, and the work that she and her organization do. In the second episode, we t...

 In this episode, we continue the conversation with Dr. Virginie Collombier and Dr. Wolfram Lacher, who are the editors of the recent book, 'Violence and Social Transformation in Libya', published by Hurst in 2023. In the first episode, we focused on how the book came to be and some of its core arguments and contributions. In this second part of our conversation, we discuss what the book...

Over the next two episodes, we speak with Dr. Virginie Collombier and Dr. Wolfram Lacher, who are the editors of the recent book, 'Violence and Social Transformation in Libya', published by Hurst in 2023. In this first episode, we focus on how the book came to be and some of its core arguments and contributions. In the second episode, we will focus on what the book might help us understa...

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Phil Lynch, the Director of the International Service for Human Rights. Our discussion builds on our conversation in the last episode, when we discussed his career and explored some of the behind the scenes work of the organization. In this episode, we discuss institutional interactions and access to justice more broadly. Enjoy listening! Don&apos...

Over the next two episodes, we talk with Phil Lynch, the Director of the International Service for Human Rights. In this first episode, we focus on Phil's background and his work at the International Service for Human Rights. In the second episode, we look at the organization's interactions with the United Nations and Phil's perspective on justice and access more widely. Enjoy liste...

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska. She is currently nominated as a judge candidate to the International Criminal Court, as she serves as a judge on the Supreme Court of North Macedonia, and she formerly was a judge on the European Court of Human Rights, and at the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia, among many other things. This discussion builds o...

Over the next two episodes, we talk to Mirjana Lazarova-Trajkovska. She is nominated as a judge candidate for the International Criminal Court. She currently serves as a judge on the Supreme Court of North Macedonia, and she formerly was a judge at the European Court of Human Rights and at the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia among many other career accolades. In this first episode, we focu...

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Janet Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg, who are the hosts of the Asymmetrical Haircuts Podcast. Their podcast covers all sorts of topics, including justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and international law more broadly seeking especially to highlight the voices of female experts and people involved in the field.  In the f...

Over the next two episodes, we talk to Janet Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg, who are the hosts of the Asymmetrical Haircuts podcast, which speaks to mainly female experts and commentators about topics including justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and much, much more.  In this first episode, we focus on some of the behind-the-scenes of creating and running their podcast...

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Andreas Schüller, Director of the International Crimes and Accountability Program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the ECCHR. Our discussion in this episode builds on our conversation in the last episode when Andreas explained what he does at the organization and how the organization works to improve access to justice. W...