Panellists and moderator for the Security and Law Enforcement Panel

Last week, Karen Tse, CEO and founder of International Bridges to Justice, made an important contribution to the discussion on how law enforcement and human rights can effectively coexist, at the World Justice Forum in The Hague. The World Justice Forum, organized by the World Justice Project, took place between the 8th and 11th of July 2013. This dynamic and innovative forum brought together diverse professionals and academics from across the world to discuss issues concerning the implementation of justice and the rule of law. Karen spoke on the panel on Security and Law Enforcement, contributing insight on IBJ’s successful global work on fighting the use of torture as an investigative tool.

Karen was joined by a diverse and stimulating group of panellists; Kiran Bedi, former Director General of the Indian Police Service; and Innocent Chukwuma, Regional Representative of the Ford Foundation from Nigeria. The session was opened by Alejandro Hope, Security Policy Analyst from IMCO & México Evalúa, who acted as a moderator for the panellists.

Karen, drawing on IBJ’s experience of working with the police to break the narrative which presents human rights defenders and police officers as each others’ enemies,  recounted her experience training law enforcers in Cambodia which inspired her to found IBJ 12 years ago. At this time, torture was routinely used in Cambodian police stations as an investigative tool. By discovering the genuine will of law enforcers to move forward from the brutal Khmer Rouge regime where torture was used systematically, Karen was able to train hundreds of police officers in lawful methods of investigation. This experience formed a precedent for IBJ’s global work in ending torture.

The success of working together with police officers to stop torture has been evident in the positive changes in the countries where IBJ operates. “The journey of IBJ has been remarkable”, Karen explained, “IBJ has been embraced in all the countries where we’ve worked”. Recently, in Myanmar in June 2013, Karen met with the Chief of Police who overtly requested to find out how IBJ can help stop torture taking place in police stations across the country. Karen concluded that IBJ’s global achievements have shown that as long as people and communities have the will to move forward, we have the power to create, transform and reform.

The other panellists also embraced the topic with thought-provoking speeches. Innocent Chukwuma from the Ford Foundation presented a stimulating argument on the indispensible importance of informal justice and policing systems in security and law enforcement. These speeches inspired many interesting questions amongst the audience.

Ultimately, Karen’s contribution at the World Justice Forum proved that not only does IBJ’s practical model for bridging law enforcement and human rights continue to actively contribute to realizing justice worldwide, but IBJ also plays a leading role in the theoretical dialogue which frames current debates on strengthening the rule of law around the world.

Karen Tse inpires the audience at the World Justice Forum

Contributed by Eva Steketee

Your email address will not be published.