Human Rights Defenders with Maria Armoudian

<p>Regular listeners to SWANA Region Radio are familiar with our claim to give a voice to the voiceless of the SWANA region. Among those most in need of a voice are the countless victims of state and corporate human rights violations who are usually too poor and systematically disempowered to take on such powerful entities as, for&nbsp;example, an oil company or the US Department of Defense. In this episode, SWANA collective members David Lloyd and Ankine Antaram hear from Professor Maria Armoudian about her new book on human rights defenders, the network of lawyers and legal non-profits that have fought to gain redress for the victims of the global war on terror and of the human and environmental destruction caused by extractive industries all over the global south.&nbsp;</p> <p>In her new book, <em>Lawyers beyond Borders: Advancing International Human Rights Law through Local Laws and Courts</em>, Maria Armoudian, tells the story of this courageous handful of lawyers and non-profit organizations that have fought to defend the victims of these violations and to win some modicum of justice and accountability. In her highly readable account, which recounts numerous cases and the tumultuous ups and downs of contradictory court decisions and trial outcomes, she narrates both the successes and the disappointments, the achievements and the resultant backlash from the legal establishment, that continue to shape the field of human rights law. It is highly compelling–and often highly disturbing, both for its depictions of the violations that so many have suffered throughout the world and in its portrayal of the cynicism and legal opportunism of the powerful perpetrators of injustice, whether government officials or corporate layers. It would be, if I may say so, a treasure trove for any script-writers in our audience seeking compelling and worthwhile stories for court-procedural dramas!</p> <p>Maria Armoudian is a lecturer at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is the author of the books <a href="https://www.a