Mayee Warren: Global justice professional
About my work
As a semi-retired justice professional, I view my ‘retirement’ as the opportunity to promote the legacy of international courts and tribunals beyond the post-conflict countries in which I served for over 12 years. My ambition is to show, in practical terms, that sustaining the rule of law is a shared global responsibility that is discharged locally through effective outreach to local communities and the education of its future leaders about the value of sustaining peace and justice.
Naturally, the human rights and social justice advocacy in my professional life as a global justice consultant to UN agencies and academic institutions, also flows into my personal life. One of my longstanding commitments is to engage local communities in the fight to end modern slavery. Every year since 2017, I have been convening ‘Hidden No More’ – an annual ‘pop up’ public awareness campaign that seeks to highlight modern slavery practices that are easily ‘hidden in plain sight – especially those that victimise women and children.
At UTS, I collaborate with Anti-Slavery Australia in the Faculty of Law and the Global Accountability Network to promote experiential learning by students seeking to join the fight against modern slavery. I am also member of ATLAS Women, a global community of female-identifying International Public Law professionals
A memorable win
As one of the coordinators of ATLAS Afghanistan, I reached out to sensitise community groups in Australia about the Afghanistan crisis that unfolded in Kabul in mid 2021. By sharing information beyond what was available from the regular media, we encouraged local communities to move from being bystanders to committed upstanders for human rights even in far-away Afghanistan. In October 2021, I unexpectedly but humbly shared in receiving the 2021 Publico Award given to ATLAS Women by the Public International Law Network (PILnet) for ‘…the collective efforts of your members in response to the crisis in Afghanistan which is an excellent example of how powerful lawyers can be when working collaboratively…’
Bio: Mayee is a global justice professional providing expert services in organisational transformation as well as leading social justice initiatives in higher education and community organisations.
After sustaining a successful career in the intersection of corporate law, management and technology, Mayee ventured into international criminal law in 2002. She served for over 12 years in the Office of the Prosecutor in several institutions: She was Chief of Cabinet at the International Criminal Court in The Hague; Director of Legal Operations at the Special Court for Sierra Leone; Chief of Information and Evidence at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She contributed to the development of operational aspects of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
In 2014, Mayee repatriated back to Australia after retiring from full time service. She then applied her experience in post-conflict countries to local social justice projects whilst consulting part-time for UN-supported justice sector reform initiatives overseas. She was also appointed by Thomson Reuters as Founding Director of Practical Law Australia and eventually joined its Board of Advisors until 2018.
Mayee joined the University of Technology Sydney in 2017 as sessional lecturer in the Master of Digital Information Studies. She is currently engaged as Initiator and Manager of the Global Accountability Project on Modern Slavery – a collaboration between the Faculty of Law, Anti-Slavery Australia and the New York-based Global Accountability Network. Mayee also works with the UNESCO Chair for International Law and Cultural Heritage at UTS as well as a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the ‘Anchoring Accountability for Mass Atrocities’ research project at the University of Oxford.
Websites
ATLAS Women: https://www.atlaswomen.org/our-story
ATLAS Afghanistan: https://www.atlaswomen.org/profiles/2021/8/21/women-amp-girls-of-afghanistan
2021 Publico Awards: https://www.pilnet.org/2021-pilnet-global-awards/
