AGENDA
AGENDA
Day 1: Monday, February 24, 2025
09:00 – 1 pm – Working Roundtables
Main theatre
| Judicial Roundtable: Enhancing Judicial Capacity for Climate and Environmental Justice in the MENA Region | Teaching Roundtable: Enhancing Environmental Law Education through Faith-based Values in the MENA Region
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| Focus: The aim of this session is to provide knowledge sharing opportunities for judges and judicial officers across the MENA region. Key issues in focus include: What are the current gaps to access to environmental and climate justice in MENA countries, what are the latest innovations to address such gaps; success stories on national environmental courts, environment tribunals, digitalisation of judicial process, and the application of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, access to climate and environmental justice, green growth and responsible investment across the region?
Keynote speeches:
Representatives of the Judiciary of Saudi Arabia
Professor Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, Professor of Law and UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; President and Chair, ASSELLMU – “Global trends on Environmental and Climate Justice”
Roundtable Panel Discussions § Dr. Jaafar Al-Maani, Judge – Member of The First Appeal Committee- The Court Of Al Salt Judicial Council of Jordan § Rachid Bouajila, Judge, Tunisia, – ‘Building a Cooperative Framework: Institutional Arrangements for Effective Transboundary Management of the North Western Sahara Aquifer System’ § Judge from Saudi Arabia, Dughaim Bin Dheifallah Al-Nomsi, Chairman of the Committee for Review & adjudication of environmental violations). § Judge Alshamsan Ibrahim, Judge, board of grievances of Saudi Arabia. |
The aim of this session is to provide a platform for curriculum development and knowledge sharing opportunities for environmental law academics, researchers and religious leaders across the MENA region. Key issues in focus include: What are the impacts of pressing water and environmental law challenges on religious observances in MENA countries; what are the relevant faith-based values for addressing contemporary water and environmental governance issues; contestations and synergies between water and environmental law principles and faith-based values; regional and global initiatives on faith-based approaches to environmental protection; pedagogy and integrating faith-based values in curriculum development for environmental law education in MENA countries?
Keynote speeches: Prof. Patricia Mbote SC, Director, Law Division, United Nations Environment Programme. • Dr. Al Omari Mohammad Director-General of the General Administration of Boards and Committ. · Abdulaziz Alshehree, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia- ‘The Procedural Component of Environmental Crime in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’
Prof. Dr. Riyad FAKHRI, Director of the Research Laboratory of Business Law at Hassan I University in Morocco & Dr. Youness LAZRAK HASSOUNI, professor of business law at Hassan I University in Morocco “The scarcity of water in Morocco: seeking a new social contract” Roundtable Panel Discussions Chair: Dr. Pedi Obani, Associate Professor, University of Bradford, UK · Dr. Aisa Hammadeen, WCEL-IUCN Focal piont for West Asia Region · Dr. Abdeljabbar Arrach, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University Hassan the First, Settat / Morocco ‘Gaps Analysis of the legal Framework for Water in Morocco’ · Dr. Mohsen Abdollahi, Associate Professor on International and Environmental Law, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), Tehran, Iran – ‘The Protection of International Watercourses’ Ecosystems and Water Security in the MENA Region · Dr. Tamara Berro, Lecturer at Lebanese University, “Climate Change, Marine Pollution, and Desertification.” · Dr. Ali Salim Al-Hamouri, Faculty of Law – Applied Science Private University, Jordan · Nourhan Al-Abd, Teaching Assistant, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law – Menoufia University – Egypt, “Administrative measures to protect waterways and rivers in the Middle East and North Africa” · Rayan Alosaimi, Arab East Colleges, Faculty of Law, Saudi Arabia “Teaching Environmental Law in Saudi Law Schools |
CONFERENCE OPENING CEREMONY
03:00 – 04:45 pm Registration
04:45– 05:30 pm Opening Remarks and Goodwill Messages
- Welcome Remarks by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Arab East Colleges, HE ProfessorAbdullah M. Al-Faisal.
- Professor Patricia Mbote SC, Director, Law Division, United Nations Environment Programme
- Philipp Bremer, Director, Rule of Law Programme Middle East & North Africa, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.
- Hani AlKhalifa, President, Produced Water Society Middle East and Senior Operations Advisor, Saudi Aramco
- Professor Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, Professor of Law and UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; President and Chair, ASSELLMU
06:15- 06:45 pm Formal Presentation of ASSELLMU’s Book – Biodiversity Law and Policy in the Middle East and North Africa Region, published by Cambridge University Press
- Professor Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, Professor of Law and UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; President and Chair, ASSELLMU
- Riyad Fahkri, Vice President, ASSELLMU & Professor of Law, Hassan First University of Settat, Morocco
Photo – all presenters of the Opening Ceremony
07:45– 09:00 pm Networking Dinner and Entertainment
Day 2
Day 2: Tuesday, February 25, 2025
08:00- 09:00 am – Registration
09:00-09:05 Welcome remarks Dr. Khalid Alomeir, Dean, Faculty of Law, Arab East Colleges, Saudi Arabia
09:05-09:40 Keynote Speech by H.E Professor Patricia Mbote SC, Director, Law Division, United Nations Environment Programme
Title: The Role of Environmental Law in Promoting Water Security
Moderated by: Dr. Pedi Obani, Associate Professor of Water and Environmental Law, University of Bradford, United Kingdom
09:40 – 10:00 Questions and Answer
10:00– 11:00 am WORKSHOP ONE: PANEL DISCUSSION: The Teaching and Practice of Environmental Law in the MENA Region: Current Status and Future Directions
Chair: Dr. Khalid Alomeir, Dean, Faculty of Law, Arab East Colleges, Saudi Arabia.
Speakers
- Enas Qutieshat, Dean, Faculty of Law, Sohar University, Oman ‘The Teaching and Practice of Environmental Law in Oman’
- Hasna Kaji, Dean, Faculty of Law, Hassan First University ofSettat, Morocco – ‘Water Policy in Morocco Between the constraints of climate change and the challenge of sustainability’
11:00 – 11:15 am Question and Answer Session
11:15- 11:30 Coffee/Tea break
11:30 – 12:00 pm Keynote Lecture: Water Security and Water Governance in Arab States
H.E. Prof. Dr. Hajer Gueldich, African Union Legal Counsel
Full Professor of Law at the University of Carthage (Tunisia)
Former Chairperson of the African Union Commission on International law (AUCIL).
Moderated by: Professor Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, Professor of Law and UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; President and Chair, ASSELLMU
12:00 – 12:15 pm Question and Answer/Discussion Session
12:30 – 1:30 pm. Lunch Break
01:30 – 03:00 pm WORKSHOP TWO– PRESENTATIONS: International Environmental Law and Water Security
Chair: Philipp Bremer, Director, Rule of Law Programme Middle East & North Africa, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.
- Eduardo Pereira, Professor of Natural Resources and Energy Law– ‘Legal framework on sustainable water management in the oil and gas sector’
- Khalid AL Fakhri, President of the National Society for Human Rights, “Protection of the Environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a Human right”.
- Mohamed Abdellatif، Faculty of Law, Mansoura University, Egypt- ‘The Legal Concept of Water Security with Application to Egyptian Law’
- Dr. Ben Ali Ben Sahla Tani , Arab East Colleges, Faculty of Law, Saudi Arabia – “The Legal Framework for Combating Desertification on Water Resources: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a Model”.
- Agnes Chong, Chair, Environmental, Energy and Climate Law Cluster, Centre for Comparative and Transnational Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong – ‘The Right to Water and Sanitation in International Law’
- Professor Mohammed Tawfiq Ladan, former Director General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Nigeria – ‘Accelerating Water Security in the MENA region through Effective Implementation of the Law on Transboundary Aquifers’
03:00 – 03:15 pm Questions and Discussion
03:45 – 05:15 pm WORKSHOP THREE: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sustainable Resolution of Water and Environmental Disputes
Chair: Professor Youness Lazrak, Professor of Law, Hassan First University of Settat, Morocco
Speakers:
- Christopher Ward SC, 3VB Chambers, London ‘The Role of International Law in Resolving Transboundary Water Disputes: Lessons from Gaza”
- Professor PavlosEleftheriadis, Professor of Legal Studies & Associate Program Head in Legal Studies, NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Umar Useni, Secretary General, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Arbitration Centre, Turkey ‘The Role of Arbitration in Resolving Water and Environmental Disputes’
- Fahd Al-Rifai, Managing Partner, The Law Firm of Al-Rifaie and Al-Dahsh, Saudi Arabia- ‘Prospects and challenges of environmental litigation’
- Ahmed Soliman , Arab East Colleges, Faculty of Law, Saudi Arabia- “Compensation for Environmental Pollution Accidents in Saudi and Egyptian Law”.
05:15-05:30 pm Questions and Answer
05:30 End of Day Two
05: 30 Optional tour of Riyadh
Day 3
Day 3: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
8:30 – 9:00 am Registration
0900- 09:10 am Opening Remarks, Dr. Omar Khataibeh, Member, ASSELLMU Executive Council
09:10 – 10:00 am Keynote Speech: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Environment and Sustainable Development Law Education
Moderated by: Dr. Omar Khataibeh, Member, ASSELLMU Executive Council
10:05 – 10:15 am Questions and Discussions
10:15 – 10:30 am Coffee break
10:30 – 12:00 am Workshop 4 PANEL DISCUSSION: Industry and Multistakeholder Approaches to Environment and Water Security
- Hani AlKhalifa, President, Produced Water Society Middle East and Senior Operations Advisor, Saudi Aramco. ‘Promoting water security through the recycling and reuse of produced water in the oil and gas industry’
- Abrar Wafa and Dr. Omar AlOmeir , Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia – “AI in Environmental Law: How Machine Learning Advances Water Security and Legal Enforcement”.
- Eric Awomolo, Heriot Watt University (UAE), Founder and CEO, EA Knock Energy ‘Promoting water security through solar-powered desalination systems in the MENA region’
12:00 – 12:15 pm. Questions and Discussions
12:30 – 1:30 pm. Lunch Break
01:30- 3:00 pm Workshop 5 WORKSHOPS: Strengthening Environmental Research and Education on
Water Security: Future Directions
| Panel A Main theatre
Speakers: |
Panel B Hall 14
Chair: Professor Abdeljabar Arrach, Professor of Law, Hassan First University of Settat, Morocco
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| · Dr. Pedi Obani, Associate Professor of Water and Environmental Law, University of Bradford, United Kingdom – ‘Water Law, Religion and the Environment’
· Dr. Read Al-Abd, Faculty of Law – Menoufia University – Egypt, ” The Right to Water”. · Dr. Karima Karroumy, Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Économiques et Sociales, Université Chouaib Doukkali – El Jadida, Maroc –‘Achieving water security between legislative texts and measures accompanying the National Water Stress Program in the Middle East and North Africa: Lessons from Morocco’ · Dr. Talal Badr Abdullah, National Focal Point, Ministry of Environment, Iraq – ‘The Concept of Water and Environmental Security and its characteristics’ |
Meshari Alajmi, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), “The Role of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Drafting International Agreements and Unified Legislation Related to the Protection of the Marine Environment and Water Security of the Arabian Gulf States”.
Dr. Mohammed Rashid Al-Sulaiti & Umair Dogar, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar –‘Evolving Legal Frameworks for Climate Change and Water Security in Qatar: A Comparative Regional Analysis and Pathways for Collaborative Governance’ Mahnaz Rashidi , Shahed University, Tehran, Iran ‘Water Security and Duties of Occupying Power in the Occupied Territories: With Special Reference to the Situation in Occupied Palestine’ Dr. Mohamed Mustafa , Arab East Colleges, Faculty of Law, Saudi Arabia –”Marine Environmental Pollution Caused by Commercial Ships”.
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3:00 – 3:45 break
3:45- 5:00 EARLY CAREER PANEL ON WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (BREAK-OUT SESSION)
The purpose of this session is to provide an opportunity for early career academics and scholars in MENA Universities to present their ongoing research to an audience of academic and industry experts.
| Panel A Main theatre
Co-Chairs: Dr. Riyad Fahkri, Vice President, ASSELLMU & Professor of Law, Hassan First University of Settat, Morocco Speakers: |
Panel B Hall 14
Co-Chairs:
Elena Athwal, Chair, ASSELLMU Early Career Focus Group, SJD Candidate, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
Weam Mahmoud, Project Manager, Rule of Law Programme Middle East & North Africa, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.
Speakers: |
| Dorsaf Danezli, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, UAE- ‘Environmental law and water security: green governance and legal reforms in Tunisia as a case study for the MENA region’
Dr. S. Duygu Sever, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar – ‘Water-Energy Nexus in MENA: The Case of Nuclear Energy’ Dr. Abdelsadok Kheira University of Law and Political Science Ibn Khaldoun –Tiaret, Algeria –‘The impact of climate change on water resources in North African countries : challenges and solutions’ Dr. Maha Mohsen Al-Saqqa, – Faculty of Law, Kingdom University, Kingdom of Bahrain –‘The role of environmental law and innovative technologies in achieving sustainable development’ Hiwa Rashid, School of Law, University of Garmian, Kurdistan region- Iraq ‘Legal Implications of sewage management and its impacts on water resources: Tanjero River case study’ Laila Touir, faculty of Law, University of hassan II casablanca, Morocco. |
Josephine Ilesanmi-, Durban University of Technology, South Africa –‘Promoting eco-entrepreneurship and water innovation’
Malika Askal , Amman, Jordan- ‘Developing the water legal system for using the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and using artificial intelligence to avoid climate migration and achieve sustainable development goals’ Amal Alshahrani, Faculty of Law, Arab East Colleges, “The use of Artificial Intelligence in the Legal Protection of the Environment”. Shatha Aldajni –King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Saudi Arabia– ‘Responsible and Sustainable Financing of Water Infrastructure in the MENA Region’ |
05:00– 5:30 pm Closing Remarks and Presentation of Conference Certificates
Moderator: Professor Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, Professor of Law and UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; President and Chair, ASSELLMU
- Abdullah M. Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Arab East Colleges
- Khalid O. Al-Omeir, Dean, College of Law, Faculty of Arab East Colleges, Saudi Arabia
- Bertrand Haan, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Division), Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Honoring Sponsors and Participating Researchers
05:30 pm End of Conference