DME Law School successfully organised its Annual International Conference on Public Health and Human Rights: A Multidimensional Approach to Equity, Justice and Resilience on 2nd and 3rd May 2025 in Hybrid Mode, powered by Vidhiśāstras: Advocates and Solicitors. The event was organised by Ms. Bedapriya Lahiri, Assistant Professor and Ms. Mansi Madaan, Assistant Professor under the esteemed leadership of Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Randhawa, Head of the Department. Dr. Neha Bahl, Professor, Ms. Amrapalli Sharm, Assistant Professor, Ms. Isha Kalra, Assistant Professor, Ms. Srishti Balam, Assistant Professor, Ms. Kritika Gautam, Assistant Professor, Mr. Suhail Khan, Assistant Professor and Ms. Savitha Suresh, Assistant Professor were part of the faculty organizing team. This conference was inaugurated in the august presence of eminent dignitaries including Sh. Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Chairman, National Commission for Minorities and Ex-Officio Member, NHRC, Prof. (Dr.) Rashmi Khorana Nagpal, Associate Dean, NMIMS, Chandigarh, Mr. Evgeny Antonov, Attaché, Embassy of the Russian Federation, and Mr. Gregory Shmidt, Third Secretary, Embassy of the Russian Federation.
The online inaugural session was graced by Prof. (Dr.) K.V.S. Sarma, Vice Chancellor, NLU Assam, Prof. (Dr.) A.P. Singh, Vice Chancellor, RMNLU Lucknow, Prof. Pierfrancesco Rossi, Professor of Law, University of Teramo, Italy and Prof. (Dr.) Vikas Bhatia, Executive Director, AIIMS Bibinagar, Hyderabad. The Valedictory Ceremony witnessed the presence of Prof. (Dr.) Alka Chawla, Prof-in-Charge, Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, as the Chief Guest. A compelling panel discussion on “Truth, Trust, and Power: Epistemic Justice in Global Health Crisis” brought together experts from across the world including Prof. Harith Burhan Al-Din (Iraq), Senior Advisor, University of Tekrist; Dr. Mihir Kanade (Costa Rica), Professor and Head of International Law and Director, UPEACE Human Rights Centre, who also chairs the UN Drafting Group on the Right to Development; Lissette Gonzalez (Venezuela), Coordinator at PROVEA; Prof. Jacob J. Shelley (Canada), Associate Professor, Law and Health Studies; Dr. Ankit Chandra (India), Assistant Professor, Community Medicine, AIIMS-CAPFIMS, Delhi; and Thayu Wainaina (UK/Kenya), Founder and Chairman, Activate Green. The discussion highlighted the importance of epistemic justice in shaping fair responses to global health crises and the interplay of trust, truth, and power in determining public health outcomes.
The core of the conference was the technical paper presentation sessions, conducted both offline and online. Offline sessions were held in three parallel tracks at DME, covering themes such as public health law, reproductive rights, bioethics, pandemic governance, environmental health justice, and indigenous healthcare systems, while online sessions featured international participants from Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom. Together, the sessions saw over 200 papers being presented with active participation from more than 450 scholars and academicians, making the conference one of the most vibrant and academically dynamic events hosted by DME Law School. The conference was supported by notable international collaborators including University for Peace, Costa Rica, Youth for Human Rights International, USA (via Kano State Chapter, Nigeria), Activate Green, Nairobi, Kenya, and AL AGHSAN Foundation, Baghdad, Iraq, along with national collaborators such as National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam; Centre for Advanced Study in International Humanitarian Law, RGNUL, Punjab; Centre for Research in Public Law, Policy and Jurisprudence, MNLU Mumbai; Centre for Research and Studies in Human Rights, DNLU Jabalpur; and Centre for Disability Studies, GNLU Gandhinagar. The conference emerged as a significant platform for international and national dialogue, fostering interdisciplinary scholarship and collaborations while contributing meaningfully to the discourse on equity, justice and resilience in public health and human rights.

