ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

(En anglais seulement) The Centre for Human Rights & Legal Pluralism presents

• Me Éloïse Décoste, Trudeau Foundation Scholar and L.L.D.Ìýcandidate (UQÀM)
• Me Marjolaine Olwell, S.J.D. candidate (U Arizona) and legal advisor to the Specific Claims Tribunal
• Yuri Alexander Romaña-Rivas, D.C.L.Ìýcandidate (ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ) and O’Brien Graduate Fellow
• Laura Baron-Mendoza, D.C.L.Ìýcandidate (ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ) and O’Brien Graduate Fellow

Moderated byÌýFrédéric Mégret

All are welcome

About the talk

In recent decades, claims for reparations of historic injustices have amplified, whether in the context of colonial wrongdoing against IndigenousÌýPeoples, reparation for enslavementÌýor compensation for victims of discriminatory laws targeting specific minority groups. Meanwhile, the emergence of transitional justice has sparked the normative development of the right to reparations. Drawing from the cases of Canada and Colombia, this panel will seek to address some of the core legal questions related to the State’s obligation to provide reparations for massive and/or State-sanctioned violations of human rights and breaches of International Humanitarian Law.

About the panelists

Éloïse DécosteÌýis a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholar and a LL.D. candidate at the Département des sciences juridiques of the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her doctoral research investigates the State’sÌýobligation to provide reparation for colonial genocide in the context of ongoingÌýsettler colonialism. Until recently, she acted as Law and Policy Analyst for Quebec Native Women, a grassroots indigenous women’s organisation that she has represented both domestically and internationally. Previously, ÉloïseÌýwasÌýaÌýlegal advisor to the Canadian Specific Claims Tribunal. She also workedÌýfor the legal division of the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as for the office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of ExpressionÌýatÌýthe Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Éloïse holds an LL.M.Ìýsuma cum laudeÌýfrom the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights as well as a bijuridical law degree andÌýa B.A. in Political Sciences and Environmental StudiesÌýfrom ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ University. She will respond to some of the main theoretical and practical objections to Indigenous peoples’ claims from reparations in the context of settler colonialism.

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Marjolaine OlwellÌýcurrently acts asÌýa legal advisor to theÌýCanadianÌýSpecific Claims Tribunal. She is an S.J.D. candidate at the James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, in theÌýIndigenous People’s Law and Policy Program, where she was an Assistant Professor of Practice. Previously, she was the lawyer in charge ofÌýthe Rapporteurship on the rights of Indigenous peoples at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Marjolaine alsoÌýworkedÌýfor a boutique firm specialized in Aboriginal law, where she notably represented survivors of the residential school system. She holds an LL.M. from the University of Arizona as well as a law degree and anundergraduateÌýdegree in International Relations and International Law from the Université du Québec à Montréal.ÌýMarjolaine will discuss the reparation schemes implemented in Canada to address the legacy of the Indian Residential School System.

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Yuri Alexander Romaña-RivasÌýis an Afro-Colombian lawyerÌýspecialized in International HumanÌýRightsÌýLaw andÌýTransitionalÌýJustice.He is currently a D.C.L. candidate at ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ’s Faculty of Law and an O’Brien Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism.ÌýHis research focuses on the need to strengthen Colombia’s transitional justice reparation structures to effectively compensate and restore the rights of Afro-Colombian communities who are victims of the armed conflict.ÌýPrior to joining the ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Law Faculty, Yuri worked for the Chamber of Amnesty and Pardon at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)Ìýin Colombia.ÌýHe has also worked asÌýa human rights specialist forÌýthe Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Yuri holds an LL.M. in International Law and Legal Studies from the American University,Ìýa LL.B. fromÌýthe Technological University of ChocóÌýand aÌýcertificate on Afro-Latin American StudiesÌýfromÌýHarvard University.ÌýHeÌýwill discussÌýhow the two main structures that compose the reparation scheme developed in Colombia following the 2016 Peace Agreement have approached reparations for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities.Ìý

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Laura Baron MendozaÌýis a Colombian lawyer specialized in conflict resolution and currently works as a human rights advocacy officer for MADRE.ÌýShe isÌýalso pursuing aÌýD.C.L.Ìýat the ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Faculty of Law, where she is an O’Brien Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. Her research focuses on the socio-legal challenges posed by the interactions between non-state armed actors and state law. This subject derives from her individual work with former members of non-state armed groups in the Urabá antioqueño Region (North-west of Colombia).ÌýIn the past, she acted as theÌýlegal team coordinator for Avocats Sans Frontières Canada in Colombia.She has also worked for the High Commissioner for Peace in Colombia during the peace talks between the government and the FARC-EP. Laura holds an LL.M. from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She will discuss the Colombian reparation scheme from the perspective of those who participated in the armed conflict, namely ex-combatants and former members of non-state armed groups.

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