Webinar December 4th: Speakers

Svein Stølen is Rector of the University of Oslo for the period 2017-2021. The Rector has the ultimate responsibility for the academic activities at the University of Oslo (UiO) and is the Chair of the University Board. Stølen is also the institution's legal representative and spokesperson in dealings with the general public and government authorities.

Stølen graduated as cand.scient. in 1985 and as dr.scient. in 1988, and was appointed professor in chemistry in 1996.

Nora Sveaass is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. She is a former member of the UN Committee Against Torture, and currently a member of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. Sveaass is the founder of Mental Health and Human Rights Info and the Human Rights Committee at the Norwegian psychological association, and is part of the NHRF’s Advisory Board. In 2018, she was awarded the Human Rights Prize of the University of Oslo and in 2019 the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav.

Asha Kowtal is an activist and Dalit women’s rights expert, with more than 15 years of experience in Indian and global human rights work. Kowtal is the former General Secretary of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, called the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM). Kowtal has worked in several capacities with private and public agencies, supporting a range of initiatives for accessing justice for vulnerable communities. Her focuses have included the development of structure, resources, teams, program strategy and publications.

Idil Eser is the former Executive Director of Amnesty International Turkey. In 2017, she and nine other human rights defenders were arrested by the Turkish government and accused of aiding three ideologically distinct terrorist organizations simultaneously. She was incarcerated for 113 days. Between November 2018 and March 2020, Eser was a guest researcher at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (UiO), doing research on the rights of prisoners. In July 2020, Eser was sentenced for 25 months in jail, and faces imprisonment if she returns to Turkey. Her case along with other sentenced defendants is under appeal process and her sentence has not been finalized yet. She is currently working on learning Norwegian and trying to figure out how to become a more effective human rights defender against violations in Turkey and around the globe.

Luciana Peri is Coordinator of the European Union Temporary Relocation Platform (EUTRP) and the “Shelter Initiatives” program, Secretariat of ProtectDefenders.eu. Luciana has participated in projects to promote and protect human rights throughout her career. Since 2014 she has worked with human rights defenders at risk and organizations supporting them. As a co-founder of Shelter City Costa Rica (Temporary Relocation Program for at-risk defenders from Central America) and Coordinator of the EUTRP, her main expertise is related to temporary relocation. She likes to work under the principle that learning never ends and contexts are ever dynamic, keeping in mind that relocation is only one strategy that has to be integrated with other actions for the comprehensive protection of defenders.

John Peder Egenæs is the Director of Amnesty International Norway. He has worked for Amnesty in various positions for 30 years, from Campaign Coordinator to Project Officer for Amnesty International’s Human Rights Education Programme. Almost all his adult life, John Peder Egenæs has been advocating the rights of people who have been forgotten, persecuted or deprived of their right to freedom of speech by the authorities in their respective countries. Egenæs has an academic background in anthropology, in addition to practical teachers training.

Mary Lawlor is the current UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, a mandate she took over in May 2020. She is the founder of Front Line Defenders - the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. She has more than 35 years’ experience with human rights work. Prior to Front Line Defenders, Lawlor was the Director of the Irish Section of Amnesty International from 1988-2000. She has wide experience of developing and sustaining a human rights organization. Mary Lawlor is an adjunct professor at the School of Business Trinity College, Dublin. She is also a part of NHRF’s Advisory Board.

Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide is a Norwegian politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2017. Søreide has had a long political career. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Norwegian Minister of Defence. Between 2009 and 2013, she was the Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, as well as the Head of the Delegation for Relations with the European Parliament, and Head of the European Consultative Committee. Søreide became a member of the Conservative Party Central Executive Committee and Chairman of the Norwegian Young Conservatives in 2000. She was elected to Parliament in the 2001 election, and was re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017. Søreide also has a law degree. Foto: Asgeir Spange Brekke, FD/DU.

Marianne Borgen is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, and the current Mayor of Oslo. For more than 30 years, Borgen has worked nationally and internationally with children's rights, with a special focus on violence and abuse, as well as the situation of refugee children. She has previously worked as a consultant in the Ministry of Local Government and Labour (1979 to 1985), for the Ombudsman for Children in Norway from (1985 to 1995), and for the County Governor of Oslo and Akershus (1995 to 1997). Borgen has also worked in Save the Children Norway, which she represented in the Forum for Children and Families in the Council of Europe. Borgen was a board member of Lovisenberg Hospital from 1992 to 1994 and a deputy board member of Norwegian Social Research from 1996 to 2001. She has also co-administered research projects for the Research Council of Norway. Borgen served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Oslo in 1989–1993, 1993–1997, 1997–2001 and 2001–2005. She was elected mayor of Oslo in 2015.

Kathrine Raadim is the Director of the International Department at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights at the University of Oslo. Raadim was previously the Director of Development and Humanitarian Cooperation at the Norwegian’s People’s Aid. She has also served as a political advisor and State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as a political advisor at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.

Raadim has a master’s degree in Peace and Development studies.

Gentian Zyberi has been the Head of Department of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights (University of Oslo) since July 2018. Zyberi is a professor of international law and human rights. He is a member of the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR, 2019-2022) and member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands. During the last 17 years, Gentian Zyberi has done research, published and taught in the areas of international human rights, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and public international law at different universities in the Netherlands, Albania, China, the US, and Norway.

Sandra Petersen is the Executive Director at the Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF) where she oversees the support to organizations around the world working in the frontline of defence for human rights. Before joining the NHRF, she worked with the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee in different positions, including as the Secretary General (2008-2009). Petersen has more than two decades of experience in working on human rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized. She has a MA in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies from SOAS, University of London.