Just Access

How Can Businesses Be Held Accountable for Human Rights Violations? | Dr. Rachel Chambers In this episode of the Just Access Podcast, Dr. Miranda Melcher speaks with Dr. Rachel Chambers, Assistant Professor of Business Law at the University of Connecticut School of Business, about corporate accountability, human rights and access to justice. Drawing on her experience as a barrister in the UK and h...

In Part 2 of our conversation with FIAN International, Dr. Miranda Melcher continues exploring the human right to food with Charlotte Dreger and Ayushi Kalyan. This episode examines how corporate power, international law, and public policy shape food systems — and what needs to change to ensure that everyone can access adequate food with dignity. Corporate concentration in food systems gives a sma...

In this episode, Dr. Miranda Melcher speaks with Ayushi Kalyan and Charlotte Dreger from FIAN International about the human right to food, why hunger and malnutrition are matters of injustice, and how human rights frameworks can help transform food systems. The conversation explores why the right to food goes beyond food security . Charlotte explains how it encompasses not only access to adequate,...

In this episode, Dr. Miranda Melcher continues her conversation with Skylar Thompson , Deputy Director, and Jennifer Connet , Legal Advisor, at Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA). They discuss how HRA documents human rights violations inside Iran, preserves evidence, and protects victims, witnesses, and sources in a high-risk environment. The conversation explores HRA’s extensive network inside...

In this episode, Dr. Miranda Melcher speaks with Skyler Thompson , Deputy Director, and Jennifer Connet , Legal Advisor, at Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA). They discuss HRA’s origins, its work documenting human rights violations in Iran, and its submission to the German Federal Prosecutor requesting a structural investigation into crimes committed in Iran. Skyler and Jennifer share their jou...

🎧 Episode Overview In this episode, Dr Miranda Melcher speaks with Mossaad Mohamed , a human rights lawyer, conflict resolution specialist, and Executive Director of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS). Mossaad shares his personal journey into human rights work and the experiences in Darfur that shaped his commitment to fighting for justice. Mossaad explains ACJPS's work docu...

In this episode of the Just Access Podcast, host Dr. Miranda Melcher speaks with Alexa Magee , a human rights and international criminal law practitioner supporting Just Access’s work on Sudan. They discuss the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the devastating impact on Sudanese civilians, and why documenting violations committed by the SA...

In this episode of the Just Access Podcast, we continue our conversation with Paula Vargas, Associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) in Bogotá, where she leads the organisation’s transitional justice work in Colombia and Latin America. Paula discusses her work at IFIT, a think tank and NGO supporting countries moving from conflict to peace and from authoritarian rule to democra...

In this episode of the Just Access Podcast, we speak with Paula Vargas, Associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) in Bogotá, where she leads the organisation’s transitional justice work in Colombia and Latin America. Paula shares her journey into human rights and access to justice, explaining how a personal encounter with barriers to reproductive healthcare first shaped her unde...

If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1, we recommend starting there, where Philip McDonagh introduces the foundations of diplomacy, human rights, and intercivilizational dialogue. In this second part of our conversation with Philip McDonagh, former Irish diplomat and Director of the Centre for Religion, Human Values and International Relations at Dublin City University, we take a closer look at the...

In this first part of our conversation with Philip McDonagh, former Irish diplomat and Director of the Centre for Religion, Human Values and International Relations at Dublin City University, we explore the deeper values that underpin diplomacy, human rights, and peaceful coexistence. Drawing on his experience with the Good Friday Agreement, peacebuilding initiatives in South Asia, and diplomatic...

In this episode we have the honour to speak with Professor Michael O'Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe. From the UN in the former Yugoslavia to leading the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, O'Flaherty describes his role as a "field diplomat" committed to being on the ground where people hurt. We discuss his four strategic priorities: Ukraine, global challenges (AI, clima...

In this second part of our conversation, Dr. Miranda Melcher continues speaking with Sandra Berty about her latest work on violence against mothers —an often overlooked but critical dimension of gender-based violence. Sandra shares insights from her recent submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, explaining why violence against mothers must be recognized as a di...

In this first part of our conversation, we speak with Sandra Berty, an international refugee law and gender-based violence specialist with more than a decade of experience working with UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM and the IRC across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States. Sandra shares how her journey into this field began during law school, when she worked with women seeking asylum who...

How can national prosecutors bring justice for atrocities committed abroad? In this episode, Ignacio Baeriswyl explains how domestic courts are increasingly stepping in to prosecute international crimes when global institutions cannot. 🎧 Episode Overview In this episode Dr Miranda Melcher continues her conversation with Ignacio Baeriswyl, a Chile-qualified lawyer and PhD researcher at the Univers...

🎧 Episode Overview In this episode Dr Miranda Melcher speaks with Ignacio Baeriswyl , a Chile‑qualified lawyer who served as an associate legal officer in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Reparations Section and is currently a lecturer and PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam. Ignacio outlines his professional trajectory—from domestic economic criminal law in Chile to his work at...

In the second part of our conversation with Sabina Grigore , PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, we take a closer look at the discretionary power of prosecutors and how their decisions fundamentally shape access to justice. Building on the discussion of domestic prosecutions of international crimes, this episode focuses on prosecutors as institutional gatekeepers. Sabina explains how pro...

In this first part of our conversation with Sabina Grigore , PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, we explore how access to justice is shaped long before a case ever reaches a courtroom. Focusing on international criminal law and transitional justice, the episode examines the often-overlooked role of domestic prosecutors who investigate atrocity crimes committed beyond their borders. Drawi...

In this second part of our conversation with Dr Fekri Dureab , physician-researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, we move from surveillance systems and misinformation to some of the most difficult questions in public health: hunger, disease preparedness, and ethical decision-making in conflict settings . Drawing on his work in Yemen, Somalia, and Iraq , Dr Dureab explains why plann...

n this episode, we sit down with Dr Fekri Dureab, a physician‑researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, to unpack how medical expertise, conflict‑zone realities, and the ever‑growing “info‑demic” intersect on the frontlines of public‑health work. Drawing on his years of hands‑on experience in Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, and beyond, Dr Dureab walks us through the evolution of his career—fr...

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. José Reis , Research Analyst at the Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center, and Dr. Marcel Garz , Associate Professor at Jönköping University in Sweden, about how media attention shapes states’ willingness to comply with human rights rulings. Drawing on their 2024 article published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution , “Media Attention and...

In this episode, we begin our conversation with Dr. José Reis , Research Analyst at the Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center, and Dr. Marcel Garz , Associate Professor at Jönköping University in Sweden, about how media attention influences compliance with human rights rulings . Drawing on their 2024 article published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution , “Media Attention and Compliance with...

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Joel Bakan , professor of law at the University of British Columbia, award-winning author, and filmmaker, about how corporate power continues to evolve — and threaten — democracy. Building on The Corporation and its sequel The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations Are Bad for Democracy , Joel unpacks how the rise of so-called “good” corporation...

In this episode, we speak with Joel Bakan , professor of law at the University of British Columbia, award-winning author, and filmmaker, about how corporate power continues to shape — and often undermine — democracy. Drawing on his bestselling book The Corporation and its sequel The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations Are Bad for Democracy , Joel reflects on two decades of investigating how c...

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Kathrin Zangerl, a pediatrician and global health researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, about why children must be at the center of climate change adaptation. Drawing on her clinical experience in Germany and Nepal, as well as her recent Lancet Child & Adolescent Health article analyzing 160 national adaptation plans, Kathrin explains why c...