Book launch and panel: "Transnational Legal Activism in Global Value Chains"

You are invited to the book launch of Transnational Legal Activism in Global Value Chains – The Ali Enterprises Factory Fire and the Struggle for Justice (Open access. Miriam Saage-Maaß, Peer Zumbansen, Michael Bader, Palvasha Shahab, eds. Springer 2021), followed by an online panel discussion with some of the Pakistani contributors to the book, who have also been protagonists in the struggle for justice around the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire.

The event will be moderated by Professor of Business Law Peer Zumbansen, which till take place in Berlin, Germany, via Zoom (13:00-14:15, Berlin time, or 7:00-8:15, Montreal time). Please register by 7 September 2021.

Description

Almost a decade after the tragic and avoidable fire at the Ali Enterprises textile factory on 11 September 2012 in Karachi, Pakistan, which cost the lives of at least 255 workers and left another 55 injured, many of the egregious and inadequate work conditions have not significantly improved.

The high number of deaths was due to the widespread neglect of basic fire safety measures in the factory building, a common fact that has led to other deadly factory tragedies in neighbouring countries as recently as the factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 9 July 2021.

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin, together with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung impressum, is hosting an international panel to commemorate the loss of human life in Karachi nine years ago, and to mark the publication of a collaborative research project and book "Transnational Legal Activism in Global Supply Chain", which explores the legal advocacy and law reform efforts that have been unfolding after the disaster.

Discussants

• Saeeda Khatoon (Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association, Pakistan)
• Nasir Mansoor (National Trade Union Federation, Pakistan)
• Faisal Siddiqi (Supreme Court Advocate and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, past O'Brien Fellow in Residence at McGill Law)
• Miriam Saage-Maaß (ECCHR, Germany)

Moderation

• Peer Zumbansen (McGill University, Canada)

The conference languages are English and partly Urdu. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided. Please register by 7 September 2021. You will receive the Zoom access link by email one day before the event.