Hina Jilani has served as an Advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 1992. She is the founder of Pakistan’s first all-women law firm, Pakistan’s first legal aid center and the Women’s Action Forum – an organization focused on campaigning for women’s rights and addressing Pakistan’s discriminatory laws. As a well-renowned lawyer in her own right, she has conducted several landmark cases that set new standards for human rights in Pakistan, with particular concern to the more vulnerable populations, including women, minorities, children and prisoners.

In your opinion, what is the number one humanitarian issue and who can solve it?

The number one humanitarian issue today that affects every part of the world is the refugee issue. Who can solve it? Nobody can tell right now, but it is a shared responsibility. We have all realized that both the countries the refugees are fleeing from and the countries they are going to have not just legal responsibilities, but also moral responsibilities. They are leaving the countries that are in conflict, so the major responsibility for those countries and the leadership in those countries is to do whatever is possible to end the conflict. There is no conflict, to which there is no solution. The problem is, do we have the moral and political commitment and the will to end those conflicts so that the communities can be at peace?

Refugees flee the brutalities of the conflict and the hosting countries have the moral responsibility to make sure that they are acting up and that they are fulfilling their obligations, but also to ensure that they are talking to their population. They have to be talking to their citizens to make accommodation and adjustment for the refugees for as long as they are on their soil. We must find new ways for settlement. The old ways are not working and are not being successful in giving refugees a permanent life anywhere in the world, so new settlement policies have to be looked for. And this is the biggest common responsibility that we have at this moment.

What is the importance of Aurora in humanitarian world?

I think Aurora does many things. It not only encourages modern entrepreneurship as we call it, people who stand up, look at the problem and have the courage to get involved with the problem, who have the courage to engage in dialogue, who have the courage to take action, to help the victims, to make sure that human lives are saved. But it also has started a discussion and a debate on what is necessary to do in today’s world to be able to adhere not only to all these modern standards that we have created throughout many past decades, of human rights, of humanitarian responsibilities, but also to look now to the new world that we are facing and to find newer solutions. I think this is a good platform that brings people from all over the world, from different disciplines, and combines their expertise so that we all can find the right solutions.

Given your background, was it difficult as a woman to fight for advocacy and protection of human rights in Pakistan?

I think fighting for human rights is difficult for everyone. But especially for women from the societies like the one I come from, where women’s participation in public life is something that is difficult. It is riddled with a lot of social obstructions. It’s not easy, definitely, especially when you are fighting for women’s rights, or those who are marginalized, or those who are minorities, whether religious or ethnic ones, but who do not have a voice but need one. The most important work that a human rights activist or a defender does is to give a voice to the voiceless. And that’s where the real danger lies, because there are elements who are opposed to exposing violations that are in advantage to very few who violate human rights for their self-interest.

I think it’s all connected. Nothing can be done in isolation. When you take social initiatives, it has to be backed by strong laws. The authority of the state must help make and promote social messages, which will change mindsets. You have to make sure that your goal is fulfilled because you have been able to create social initiatives, to do economic planning for the implementation of policies that you think will take you towards your goal, you have to change social mindsets. These are some things that can be done only if the government and the people are close to each other and that it’s not the elites who decide everything, but the communities are given a voice in deciding what the right way is to reach a particular common goal.