Furthermore, Berenice has presented reports before Argentina’s periodical report at the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Periodic Review.

 

Vinícius de Azevedo Fonseca is an Attorney for Brazil, working in the Attorney General's Office since 2013. He was a member (Attorneys for Brazil elected representative) of the Superior Council of the Attorney General’s Office and occupied the position of Substitute Regional Coordinator of Proactive Litigation in the Solicitor Regional’s Office in the South of Brazil. Besides his work on cases dealing with fight against corruption, asset recovery and public property, Vinícius is part of the legal team in the Attorney General’s Office responsible for the lawsuit filed against the two largest tobacco companies in Brazil, through which Brazilian government claims reimbursement for the public health care costs of tobacco related diseases. He completed part of his undergraduate studies at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and holds a master's degree in Law from University of Caxias do Sul (Brazil), obtained with the thesis "polluter pays principle, public health and civil liability: the internalization of tobacco industry negative externalities".

Judge Sharif A M Reza Jaker completed his LL.B (honours) and LL.M. degree from a reputed university of Bangladesh. He started his career as a legal researcher. He also served as a lecturer in law at the Stamford University Bangladesh. After qualifying competitive Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Examination, Judge Jaker joined Bangladesh Judicial Service in 2006. Over the past eighteen years he has been projecting his potentiality in different porches of justice sector as a domestic and international judicial leader, judicial policy maker, strategic plan designer, judicial change manager, human rights defender, judicial educator and judicial motivator etc. Judge Jaker represented Bangladesh Judiciary in the Educational Conference of the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA) in 2013. He has wide range of experience of receiving higher professional training in UK, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India and in many other countries. At present Judge Jaker has been working as a District and Sessions Judge for the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. His area of interest includes human rights and global health law, International health governance, tobacco control legislation and litigation, Covid-19 Law and Human Rights, criminology and criminal justice, International Criminal Courts and Tribunals, International Organizations and Human Rights, Environmental Justice etc. He has two research publications to his credit. Judge Jaker is a member of Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA), Bangladesh Judicial Service Association, Human Rights Summer School Alumni Association etc.

I am Md Jwel Sarkar, and I am going to give a brief about my educational qualifications and work experience though they, coupled with other information, have been outlined in my curriculum vitae (here in after referred to as ‘CV’) too. After having completed both the Secondary School Certificate (“SSC”) in 2006, which is equivalent to International GCSEs, and the Higher Secondary Certificate (“HSC”), which is equivalent to the A Levels, I went to pursue LL.B. Honors at the University of Wolverhampton. I passed my undergraduate law degree with an Upper Second class from this University in 2015. I also started the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), which is a Post-Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL),from the City Law School, City University of London from September 2015 to 2016. I passed the PGDL from this establishment with 68.4%, and I was subsequently Called to the Bar from the Lincoln’s Inn, U.K. Moreover, I started LL.M. from the University of Birmingham from September 2016 to 2017 in International Commercial Law. Whilst pursuing my LL.M at Birmingham University, I had completed a dissertation on Cyber Security and Data Protection of Bangladesh.

Mr. Elie Michael-Khalif Cideka is a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he attended his primary, secondary and tertiary studies. He successfully completed his Licence en Droit Privé et Judiciaire (LL.B in Private and Judicial Law) with Distinction, Université Catholique de Bukavu, DRC. Passionate of human rights, he pursued his LL.M study in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (the 2020 edition), University of Pretoria, South Africa. Currently he works as Legal Assistant at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, Arusha, Tanzania. Mr. Khalif is fluent in English, French, Swahili and Lingala. 

Born on August 14, 1977, in Zinvie (Benin Republic), Laurent HOUNGNIBO graduated from the faculty of Law of the University of Abomey-Calavi in 2005. Holder of a post graduate Degree in Public Law (2014) and a Master of Art in English Language (2003) from the same University, I am a perfect bilingual lawyer. Fully committed in solving community problems, as a member of Junior Chamber International Bénin (JCI Senator 7476, former local president, former director of JCI Benin Training Institute), I have been involved in the conduct of many awareness raising campaigns in Benin Republic against tobacco and other youth and health related issues. Though not graduate in health law, I show passion for the subject and specially tobacco control strategy and law and I am keen to learn through this program. I have more than ten years of professional experience as shown on my resume, and I am working since March 2019 as Lawyer- Translator with ERSUMA. I have also worked in the past as corporate lawyer in telecoms industry and cooperate with research centres like the Universities of Benin (Republic of Benin) and of Togo (Republic of Togo). 

Leonce is the Executive Secretary of the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), a Pan African a civil society network, with more than one hundred organization members in 39 African countries in Sub-Saharan Africa dedicated to the prevention of tobacco epidemic on the African continent and its overarching impact on the health, economy, environment and well-being of the population. He oversees and contributes to the execution of various activities undertaken by the alliance such as monitoring, and denouncing tobacco industry interference, building the capacity of tobacco control stakeholders, guiding them during the drafting, adopting and implementing tobacco control policies, and providing technical assistance in advocacy.

Demoz Aman is a tobacco control consultant at the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority. His current role is to provide legal advice to the implementation of a tobacco control project. Previously, Demoz worked at the World Health Organization Ethiopian Country Office as a tobacco control consultant and the Office of the Federal Attorney General as a Senior Public Prosecutor. Since 2018, he has made outstanding contributions, among others, to tobacco tax policy change and legal reforms through advocacy work and drafting new laws that substituted the controversial Anti-Terrorism, and the Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrant`s laws of the country. And have received recognition from the Legal and Justice Affairs Council and Mathiwos Wondu YeEthiopia Cancer Society. He is concerned with public health and the threat posed by alcohol, tobacco, and other product industries and environmental crisis. He is determined to become an expert in health law and contribute work that benefits the country and beyond. He received his LLM from Mekelle University and LLB from Haramaya University in 2016 and 2008, respectively. He enjoys waking early and doing athletics. 

 

I am Getahun Walelgn from Ethiopia. I studied Bachelor of Laws at Haramaya University, Master of Laws at Kyushu University, Central European University, University of Turin and International University College of Turin. I taught a number of courses at different universities in Ethiopia such as Haramaya University, Addis Ababa University, Debre Berhan University, and Oromia State University. I have also worked at Ethiopian Red Cross Society and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society as a focal person for a certain global project. Furthermore, I practiced general business law and worked for IFC/WB as a short-term consultant and engaged in policy studies and legal drafting on certain projects. Currently I am working at FDRE Attorney General as a Higher Prosecutor.  

Mihir Samson has over ten years of experience in constitutional, civil and criminal litigation. He has a B.B.A, LL.B. from Symbiosis Law School, Pune and recently completed his LL.M. from Columbia Law School, New York in 2020, receiving a commendation for his leadership and commitment to human rights. He has been part of several landmark cases, including challenging the anti-sodomy law, the recognition of transgender person's rights, and challenging the exclusion of transgender persons from armed forces.

Ms Purva Singh, is a Delhi based lawyer with an LL.M. Degree from the University of London, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS). She is a former World Bank Consultant. Currently Purva is engaged as National Consultant/Legal Coordinator (Non-Communicable Diseases and injuries) with the World Health Organization Country Office for India. Here she provides technical support to the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India on Tobacco Control law & policy. This is her fifth year with the WHO.

I am Novita, call me Novid, with the surname Tjia. Born in Bekasi, November 16, 1989 and I grew up in Bekasi city, West Java. I graduated from college in 2019 from the Jentera Indonesia Law School in Jakarta, majoring in criminal law. Now, I work at the Indonesian Citizens Forum, which was originally the Jakarta Citizens Forum, for 11 years as litigation staff for FAKTA and campaign coordinator for the CTFK program implemented by FAKTA. I like to work independently or in groups, which makes it easier for me to adapt to situations more quickly and better. My weakness is writing something, but to makes it easier for me, usually I will trying to make something visually to convey curiosity in new things to others.

My name is Anggi Maisarah. I was born in Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia on 4th May 1992. I am the 2nd child in my family. My father is a lecturer, and my beloved mother is a housewife. My oldest sister works as a Journalist. I also have one little brother who currently working as an entrepreneur and the youngest sister who is a high school student. I graduate from the 3rd Government Senior High School majoring in Social. In 2010, I got a chance entering Faculty of Law Universitas Indonesia through Achievement Track Program offered by the university. I then graduated in 2014 and accepted to take a part as a 3 months-Intern in Hadiputranto, Hadinoto and Partners (Baker McKenzie International) rewarded for me as the Top 3 of Most Outstanding Student in my faculty. In 2015 I continued my career as a Legal in PT Asuransi Samsung Tugu (a joint venture between Samsung Marine Ltd, Korea and PT Tugu Pratama, Indonesia). After almost 2 years int this company, in 2017 I decided to come back to my home city Medan and applied working in Yayasan Pusaka Indonesia under Divison of Law. My experiences have sharpened my personality, developed my networking skills and raised my motivation to help people. I really enjoy and cherish all the moments in my life and will keep gaining my enthusiasm in advocating.

Philip Musamia is a Policy Development officer at the International Institute for Legislative Affairs (IILA-Kenya), experienced in legal and policy analysis. He leads the process of incorporating the institute's positions (based on research/evidentiary findings) into public policy and law through engagement with policy makers, legislators and key non-state actors. He is versed in litigation and legislative drafting and has been involved in development of draft bills that have been enacted into law. He takes pride in pursuing establishment of pro-people policies and laws that are just and beneficial to present and future generations. An ardent sports fan, he’s keen to learn from others and believes in knowledge sharing.

 

Mr. Stephen Nyarango Ayiera is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Certified Public Secretary. Currently he teaches law at Kenyatta University and Kenya School of Law.  He is also a legal practitioner at Nyarango & Company Advocates. He holds Master of Laws Degree from the University of Nairobi, Bachelor of Laws Degree from Moi University and a Diploma in Law from Kenya School of Law. He is currently pursuing Doctoral studies at the University of Nairobi’s Centre for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He is a member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS) and Kenya Institute of Management (KIM). His areas of academic and practice interest include Public Interest Lawyering and Practice, Environmental law, Health Law, Land Law, Corporate and Financial Law.

 

Elizabeth Wanjiru Wambiri is a Tutorial Fellow at Kenyatta University School of Law, Public Law Department. She holds a Bachelor of Laws’ Degree from Kenyatta University and Master of Laws (Law, Democracy and Governance) from University of Nairobi. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a Member of the Law Society of Kenya and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (ACIArb). Her areas of include human rights, democracy and governance. 

Darina Gracía Toledo born in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. Graduated in Law and Philosophy at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo. Studied a Master's Degree in Law at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and did a research stay at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She has focused her work on human rights and the right to access public information and transparency. From 2009 to 2011 she was a research collaborator at the Michoacan State Congress, From 2012 to 2015 she worked as a legal assistant on nationality and identity issues at the Michoacan Delegation of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After that, her work focused on strategic litigation against conflict of interest and illegal advertising, and legal strategies for tobacco control at the Inter-American Heart Foundation of Mexico. She also worked for the National Human Rights Center of the National Human Rights Commission, the Mexican ombudsperson. She is currently the Technical Secretary of the NGO Salud Justa MX. 

I´m Michell Castillo; I´m Mexican; I´m 41 years old. In the scholar field I have a Bachelor´s degree of Law and Master´s degree of Public Health by the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico (INSP). I have worked for many years in the Ministry of Health in Mexico like a legal advisor and Normativity Senior Director in the Federal Government, specifically in the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks in Mexico (COFEPRIS), there I could represent to my Country in international priority projects with the WHO and PAHO´s. Today, I work like a Legal advisor in the National Office for Tobacco and Alcohol Control at CONADIC (National Commission against Addictions in Mexico) within the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program co-managed by The Union, analyzing and designing strategies that help achieve regulatory advances in order to comply with the pacts Mexico has made to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Finally, my hobbies are that I love painting and watching movies of all kinds.

Ekwale Sarah Ochuko is a seasoned Legal and HR Professional, called to the Nigerian Bar in 2009 and has applied her lawyering and administrative skills across various sectors particularly in general Corporate Practice, Employee Relations, Advocacy, Compliance, Regulatory Matters, Administration and Procurement amongst others. Sarah is a service-oriented person and in this regard have taken up various social developmental projects. She is currently the Programme Manager (Administrative and Human Resources) at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa.

Foluke Opeyinka Oyeleye is a Human Right Defender based in Nigeria. She is a Judge of Customary Court where she is the designated Judge for women Rights, Children rights and Health issues. She is a member of Trustee of New Initiative for Social Development (NISD) and Centre for Social Justice, Good Health and Community Development (CESJOHD), a Non-Governmental Organization working on Gender and children Rights. She is a member of Nigeria Bar association (NBA Ado Ekiti Branch), Ekiti State Customary Courts President Association and International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) where she served in various capacities She was the Human Rights and Good Governance projects coordinator for Justice, Development and Peace Initiative (JDPI) of the Catholic Diocese of Ekiti State from 2006 to 2013. She has worked on projects sponsored by United State Embassy in Nigeria, Africa Women Development Funds (AWDF), MISEREOR (Germany), Irish Embassy in Nigeria, Canadian Embassy in Nigeria, European Union, Water Aid Nigeria, Department for International Development (DFID), etc. 

 

Zeeshan Ali has over 15 years of standing as a Rule of Law Advisor, Advocate/Attorney and ADR Expert. He is member of the High Court Bar Association Islamabad, Pakistan. Ali works with the Asia Foundation, as a Technical Advisor – Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Legal Advisor to the World Health Organization and Relief International. He also works as an Arbitration lawyer and mediator with corporate sector. His international experience ranges from legal advisory to CNN-International and mediation services to corporate, not for profit and international organizations, such as, UNDP, GIZ, FCO and Government of Pakistan. Ali is working with the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan and Law and Justice Commission to set up a National Arbitration Tribunal to deal with commercial disputes arising under the China Pakistan Economic Corridors (CPEC) project. Besides, he also assists the judiciary and government institutions in developing the national rule of law framework. Mediation has been a cornerstone of all his endeavors to mainstream ADR in the legal system of Pakistan. He also contributed to the first ever curriculum development on ADR courses for law schools in Pakistan. In addition to conducting onsite mediation, Ali trains judges at the judicial academies to develop and strengthen their mediation skills.   

Ali is an International Weinstein Fellow. As part of his fellowship, he worked with the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) in Washington DC, as a Researcher. His portfolio includes a prestigious membership of the official ADR Committee of the Honorable Lahore High Court (LHC) where he provides technical inputs to strengthen the existing Court-Annexed Mediation Centers in the province Punjab. Ali holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of Punjab and LLM specializing in (Rule of Law for Development) from Loyola University Chicago. 

 

Sophia is a public interest lawyer specializing in public health policy development and advocacy. She is a co-founder and executive director of ImagineLaw, a public interest law organization that designs and advocates for policies to help people live healthy and meaningful lives. Between 2016 to 2020, Sophia led ImagineLaw’s work on Road Safety, advocating for policies to address speeding, child restraints use and other road safety risk factors. Under her leadership, ImagineLaw successfully advocated for the issuance of a national policy on speed limit setting and enforcement and over 20 local roadsafety laws. Sophia also continues to provide technical and legal assistance to CSOs and government agencies involved in the development and implementation of Republic Act No. 11229 or the Child Safety on Motor Vehicles Act of the Philippines and currently leads ImagineLaw’s work on tobacco control in the Philippines and civil registration and vital statistics in Asia Pacific countries.

Sharon Nyatsanza, is a tobacco control advocate and lawyer. Sharon earned her Bachelor of Laws and a cum laude Master of Law from the University of Fort Hare. She also holds a Doctorate from the University of Witwatersrand, specialising in tobacco control, intellectual property law and human rights. Her legal research and publications have been focused on using the law to facilitate tobacco control. Currently, she is the Communications and Project Coordinator at the National Council Against Smoking. She was previously a Research Fellow at the Mandela Institute, where she focused on commissioned and policy research in the area of biotechnology, law and Development. Sharon is passionate about public health, human rights and the generation of knowledge for the developing world. 

Talibita Moses is 38 years old, a lawyer, lecturer and consultant on Natural Resources laws. In his 10 years’ experience with Civil society at Uganda National Health Consumer’s Organization as Legal officer, he has participated in public policy analysis and legislative advocacy which among others caused the: enactment of the Tobacco Control Act no. 22 of 2015, drafting patient Rights and Responsibilities Bill of 2019 and engaged in court advocacy that defeated Tobacco industry thus upholding Uganda’s Tobacco control legal framework as intended by the framers of the same. 

Hello! My name is Olga Bachynska and I am from Kyiv, Ukraine. I always knew that I want to be a lawyer, and after my first scholarship in Ukrainian Parliament, I understood that I want to be a part of “policy making” process in my country. Therefore, as for now I am PhD in Law and Master in Psychology – by my education, civil servant at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine – by my job and traveler – by my heart. In my work routine, I combine public health policy and coordination of international technical assistance in this sphere. Moreover, I try to use every chance to improve my knowledge and professional experience.

Jingjing Liu is the Program & Financial Compliance Officer at the International Grants and Contracts Program of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. She manages a portfolio of grants and contracts to China funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and death from tobacco use and cardiovascular disease. Prior to joining CTFK, Jingjing worked as the Associate Director of the U.S-China Partnership for Environmental Law at Vermont Law School, where she developed, executed and managed a multi-million program between Vermont Law School and NGOs and government institutions in China to advance environmental governance, the rule of law, and sustainable development in China. She also taught courses on Chinese law and comparative environmental law research as an Assistant Professor of Law at Vermont Law School.  Jingjing received her LLB and LLM degrees from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, and an LLM degree from Columbia Law School.

Inutu Akolwa is a lawyer currently working in the Zambian public service as a law reform researcher. She has been lead researcher on numerous government law reform projects where she has used a rights based approach to ensure that the States international law obligation to respect protect, promote and fulfil human  rights is reflected in the law. Prior to joining the public service, Inutu worked as professional legal assistant to the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of People Living with HIV and Those at Risk, Vulnerable to and Affected by HIV in Africa, one of the specialized Committees of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.