IBA award winners 2020

The remarkable recipients of the IBA’s Section on Public and Professional Interest awards 2020 were honoured in an online ceremony during Virtually Together. The three prestigious awards, supported by LexisNexis, are given annually to lawyers in the fields of human rights, pro bono work and to an outstanding young lawyer respectively.

Daye Gang was named winner of the IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for her work, dedication and efforts in the emerging field of restorative justice for victims of sexual and family violence, as well as her pursuit for accountability of perpetrators of crimes committed in North Korea. Gang graduated from her Bachelor of Laws at Monash University in Australia in 2015 with First Class Honours, specialising in Human Rights and International Law. She works with the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights in continuing the work of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea..

Daye Gang: ‘The work that earned this award is founded on a struggle against multigenerational trauma. I'm talking about the Korean peninsula, where there is still hope that North and South Korea will eventually reunify.

The private markets that emerged after the mass famine in North Korea saw women become primary breadwinners. This duty imposed on women, to earn money for the family's survival, quickly expanded the gendered expectation that the first duty of a woman is as a wife and a mother.

In South Korea, the phenomenon of women not being able to re-enter the workforce after having children is entrenched. The term kyungdanyo, meaning “woman with discontinued career”, has entered common usage. South Korea's gender pay gap is the highest in the OECD [with women receiving on average] 63 per cent of a man's pay.

Repressive constructions of womanhood and motherhood limit women's autonomy and potential in both North and South Korea. Meanwhile, South Korea's fertility rate is the lowest in the world due to the impact of stagnant wages, high youth unemployment, the failure of the government to enact pro-women policies and women increasingly boycotting relationships and reproduction in favour of autonomy and independence.

North Koreans, for their part, have told human rights campaigners that the term “violence against women” is not one that is used in their country. However, every interviewee reported experiencing or witnessing some form of violence or control against women. Some women say they escaped because they would rather risk death in a foreign country than another night being beaten by their husband. This suggests that North Korea does not even have a conceptual framework about violence enacted through gender.

It is clear that state treatment of women across the peninsula needs work. Therefore, any strategy for reunification and the resolution of this ongoing trauma must involve women, indeed, people of all genders and sexualities. The consequences of not doing so are frightening. Esteemed colleagues, my wish is that each one of us will combine our abilities in ever more thoughtful ways for a better future.’

Neri Colmenares was given the IBA Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights. He is a renowned human rights lawyer and activist in the Philippines. He received the accolade for his extensive contribution to human rights, and his continuing determination and advocacy in the face of great adversity. In 2017, he established an organisation campaigning against the extrajudicial killings under President Duterte and acts as counsel in an ICC complaint against the President. He has also provided guidance in congressional hearings on the Philippines’ controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

Neri Colmenares: ‘There is currently attention in international discourse with regards to the compatibility of human rights with Covid responses worldwide. I have always maintained that any Covid response that disregards human rights is not the correct path, because it will only exacerbate the problem instead of providing appropriate solutions.

This human rights award from the IBA has never been more timely, because we are in the midst of a pandemic, because it amplifies the need for human rights and Covid responses to be complementary to each other.

On a personal note, this award is not only an honour for me, but serves as an inspiration to human rights lawyers to continue our work for our people, despite the difficulties and threats.

Fifty lawyers and judges have been killed in the Philippines since 2016. This award will provide a mantle of protection to human rights lawyers like me.’

Ishrat Hasan received the IBA Pro Bono Award for her dedication to removing barriers to access to justice, specifically for the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Bangladesh, as well as her legal battles in relation to the rights of women and children. Among her many pro bono activities, she filed a writ to establish breastfeeding areas and baby-care corners in public spaces. Hasan also fought for the rights of mothers and their unborn babies seeking the prohibition of gender detection in foetuses.

Ishrat Hasan: ‘As a lawyer, from the very beginning of my career I have tried my best to take the opportunity to give back to society through my legal skills.

Unfortunately, women in my country face [significant] challenges in engaging in this profession due to social barriers. I am trying to perform my duty as a social engineer and this legal organisation has increased my courage.

In most of my pro bono work, the sense of responsibility came from my personal experiences. I would like to express here two of my experiences. Though I practise at the ethics court in my country, there is no breastfeeding room. I had great difficulties in feeding my baby. In addition, when I travelled by air with my nine-month-old baby, I was delayed by about five hours in the airport due to bad weather and I was in great need of a breastfeeding room. I was helpless and devastated. This terrible experience made me determined to take this serious issue before the court, and I argued there for the establishment of a breastfeeding room in all public places of Bangladesh so that no lactating mother and her baby would suffer like this.

I want to share another experience with you. During my pregnancy, I met a lady with a broken heart. She was screaming, crying and blaming God as she [had discovered] that she was carrying a female foetus for the third time.

In my professional life, I have heard a considerable number of allegations of [women] being subjected to physical and mental torture, abortion and attempted abortion, domestic violence and so on, just for carrying a female foetus.

Gender detection of unborn babies is a great threat for pregnant women and their unborn babies. I strongly felt the necessity of prohibiting it and brought this matter before the court.

Breastfeeding rooms in public places should not be considered as a domestic issue. Rather, it has widespread impact for millions of working women who will benefit. If mothers can feed their babies at workplaces or in public places, it will be a remarkable change in the era of empowerment of women worldwide.

By awarding me this prize, the judging panel cordially acknowledge the importance of providing services, especially for women and children. Let's join together to build a better world for women and children. I firmly believe that the honour that the IBA has awarded me will inspire many more lawyers worldwide.’

This is an abridged version of the awards ceremony, which is available on the IBA website:
ibanet.org.