The Inaugural Training for Judges and Lawyers in Iquitos, Peru continued on March 19, 2007 with a two-day session for lawyers from the Loreto region of Peru and the capital city of Lima. The training focused on human rights (international, regional, and national,) environmental, and indigenous rights law. The lawyers were representatives of human rights, indigenous, and environmental NGOs. Several indigenous leaders from the Loreto region also participated in the training. The speakers who participated in the lawyers training were also all experts in their fields. We chose those speakers who could make an objective contribution on the state of regional and international law, but who also had practical experience in appylying these laws.
The training was kicked-off with introductory remarks from Aldo Atarama, President of the Colegio de Abogados de Loreto, Lily La Torre, Executive Director of Grupo de Trabajo Racimos de Ungurahui, and Lillian Manzella, ERI’s International Legal Program Coordinator.
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Aldo Atarama, President of the Colegio de Abogados de Loreto and Lillian Manzella, ERI’s International Legal Program Coordinator |
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Francisco Soberon, founder of the Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH) began by introducing the theme of the training. |
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Javier Mujica Petit, lawyer and founder of Centro de Asesoria Laboral de Peru (CEDAL) and responsible for the program on human rights, addressed international law and human rights in Peru. |
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Astrid Puentes, Legal Director for the Asociacion Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA) introduced earth rights – the intersection of human rights and the environment. |
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Professor Arturo Carrillo, Director of George Washington University’s International Human Rights Clinical Program covered the both international and Inter-American systems for human rights protection, as well as analyzing cases which have been brought in the Inter-American system. |
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Mario Melo, lawyer for the Sarayaku people in their case in the Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos, began the afternoon with a discussion on indigenous rights in the national and international arenas. |
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Francisco Soberon, Astrid Puentes, Mario Melo, and Arturo Carrillo finished the first day fielding questions from a very enthusiastic audience. |
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Francisco Soberon was also featured in Kerry Kennedy’s Speak Truth to Power, in which ERI’s Executive Director. Ka Hsaw Wa was also featured. |
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Astrid Puentes began the second day of training by introducing the theme of the day, environmental protections, with an emphasis on international environmental law. |
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The participants broke out into groups representing various stakeholders and sought to apply international environmental law principles to a local case. |
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Doris Balbin, lawyer and Associate Member of the Asociacion Civil Labor shared her experiences in numerous environmental protection cases. |
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Professor Pierre Foy, founder of the Instituto de Estudios Ambientales (IDEA) of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru also addressed local environmental cases. |
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At the end of the day, Ivan Lanegra, lawyer for the Consejo Nacional del Ambiente (CONAM) addressed corporate accountability and Doris Balbin and Arturo Carrillo joined him in addressing questions from the participants. |
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Several indigenous leaders attended the training and received certificated from the Colegio de Abogados de Loreto and ERI for their participation. |
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Miluska Ruth Carhuavilca García, lawyer for Grupo de Trabajo Racimos de Ungurahui enjoys a brindisi with Aldo Atarama, President of the Colgeio de Abogados de Loreto, after organizing a successful event. |
Curriculum materials are available below:
