Marcia V. J. Kran
Marcia Vaune Jocelyn Kran is a Canadian lawyer and expert member of the UN Human Rights Committee, the first Canadian to be elected to the Committee in over a decade. Kran's career has spanned international human rights law, criminal law and political science, and includes positions in academia and civil society. In international human rights law, Kran has held a range of senior United Nations positions for nearly two decades. She lives in West Vancouver with her husband, Luis F. Molina. Biography. Early life. Born in Morris, Manitoba, Kran is one of two daughters of  the late Esther and Emil Kran. She attended high school at Morris Collegiate. In 1975 she began her studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Education. Kran completed a B.A. in History and an LL.B. at the University of Manitoba (U of M) in 1980. She served as a student constable with the Winnipeg Police Department during the summer of 1979. While at U of M, she carried out two traineeships through the Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (AISEC), an exchange programme for the development of young leaders, in Turkey in 1980, and in Yugoslavia  in 1978. In 1988 she received a Diploma in Social Sciences from the University of Stockholm, and in 1989 she received an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, where she was a research assistant with the International Human Rights Programme. During her graduate studies at the University of Toronto, she and fellow student Catherine Bickley noticed the dearth of information for young lawyers interested in pursuing careers in international law and complied a list of resources for this audience. In the summer of 1993 she received a Certificate in Human Rights and Peace from the Aristotle University  of Thessaloniki. Career. Canadian legal career. Kran began her legal career as a Crown Attorney in Winnipeg for the Province of Manitoba from 1981 to 1987. She prosecuted cases under the Criminal Code of Canada, including fraud, theft, robbery, sexual assault, and murder in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was the first woman prosecutor to handle proceedings in the Northern Manitoba circuit courts. In 1989, Kran became Legal Policy Counsel at the Canadian Department of Justice (DOJ) in Ottawa, advising on amendments to the Criminal Code and related laws, such as extradition and counter-terrorism legislation. In that capacity, she advised the  Canadian Delegation to the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Havana, Cuba in 1990, and participated in the negotiation between countries of several UN criminal justice standards such as the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, Basic Principles on the of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners. Additionally, at the DOJ, Kran supervised the production of Strategies for Confronting Domestic Violence: A Resource Manual as a contribution to the UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch. International legal career. In  1991, Kran joined the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria as a professional officer, where she offered technical support on criminal justice issues to various countries including Albania, Cambodia, Romania and the former Yugoslavia. She taught at UN workshops on human rights for judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and prison officials in Romania, and for law enforcement officials in Albania. Kran also contributed to UN model treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance. She was the principal author of the first handbook on Criminal Justice Standards for UN Peacekeeping Police, which is still used  today. Kran joined the University of British Columbia's International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, a UN affiliate institute, in 1994. As Senior Associate, she designed criminal justice reform projects and participated in the first training on human rights for UN peacekeeping police, which took place in Mozambique. In 1995, Kran took up a post as a Human Rights Officer at the UN Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. She designed and oversaw implementation of country support projects to advance international human rights, notably in Vietnam and the Philippines. She also provided human rights training  for UN peacekeeping police in the former Yugoslavia. From 1997 to 2000, under the auspices of her firm, International Justice Consultants, Kran consulted for the UN and for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on human rights and rule of law. She carried out expert consultancy assignments in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Macedonia, Mongolia, Nepal, and Timor Leste. She also advised on research projects undertaken by the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Versoix, Switzerland. In 2000, she moved to Phnom Penh and served as Senior Legal Advisor to the Cambodian Ministry of Women's and Veterans ’ Affairs, advising on strategies and reforms to advance women's equality in the country, sponsored by CIDA. She provided expert advice on the first law against domestic violence and the Cambodian government's report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). From 2001 to 2003 she served as the head of the National Criminal Justice Reform Programme at the Open Society Justice Initiative in Budapest, where she developed, managed, and guided the implementation of human rights and rule of law programming in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 2003, Kran became  the Democratic Governance Team Leader at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Centre for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in Bratislava. She led a team of advisors specializing in public administration reform, anti-corruption, e-governance, and human rights. She and members of her team carried out advisory missions to strengthen democratic governance in the 25 countries of the region. From 2006 to 2009 she was based in Bangkok, Thailand, where she served as Head of Policy and Programmes at the UNDP Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, managing the provision of expert advice and regional support  programmes in over 25 countries on a wide range of sustainable development issues including human rights, access to justice, anti-corruption, environmental protection, and crisis prevention. In 2009 Kran was named Director of the Research and Right to Development Division at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. She led a 100-person team of specialists who contributed to the policy positions of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, conducted research studies and organized panels for the UN Human Rights Council on priority human rights issues, and delivered advice to requesting states and  civil society organizations. Kran advocated for human rights to be considered mainstream issues in the agenda of the UN as a whole. As Director, Kran collaborated with other UN offices and programs to integrate human rights issues into the organization's overall agenda including the Sustainable Development Goals (2015 -2030). She represented the High Commissioner and OHCHR at the Human Rights Council and other high level UN events. Kran also participated in many human rights meetings and events to advocate for human rights in various countries. She contributed to publications to raise awareness about key human rights issues. She led  OHCHR's visit to Myanmar to discuss with the government the establishment of a field office in the country. In 2011 she served as the first Chair of the Policy Board of the UN inter-agency Indigenous People's Partnership which funded projects in various countries to strengthen national implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Throughout her international service at OHCHR and UNDP, Kran advocated for the protection of all human rights – civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights – and for the integration of human rights into sustainable development efforts, as well as accountability for violations  of rights, stating that "[g]overnance is not just about whether administration functions smoothly, it's about how people can review what those in power do, and how they can hold them to account." UN Human Rights Committee. In 2016 Kran was nominated by the Government of Canada and elected to the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) for a four-year term (2017–2020), the first Canadian to be elected to the Committee in over a decade. As a member, Kran regularly engages with officials from states that reported to the Committee, focusing on-the-ground experience of persons in those countries  in exercising their civil and political rights. Concerning her work on the Committee, she has stated, "Since I was elected to the Committee ... my focus has been on the tangible efforts made to apply rights guarantees in practice at the national level. When we engage in dialogues with officials in Geneva and adopt Concluding Observations, my concern is about how these will be translated into pragmatic action by the State party on the ground." In 2020 she was elected for a second term, receiving votes from 109 countries. On her re-election, Kran has said, "The challenges to human rights  that we see every day was a factor I took into account when I decided to run again." She has encouraged active Canadian participation in the UN stating, "I’m delighted to see Canada taking steps to increase its role at the UN," and on the UN treaty bodies specifically, "because we’re independent experts, and applying human rights law, the work we do is very valuable in guiding states in developing new law and policies. My concern is that people on the ground are better protected, that states take action to protect rights. I would like to see more  countries engaging with the [Human Rights C]ommittee and implementing our views." Kran has also recommended actions for States and the UN to achieve gender parity on the UN human rights committees, consisting of the ten treaty bodies, asserting that without equal representation of women, the committees risk overlooking matters and perspectives that should be part of their legal agenda. Among the actions she proposed are States nominating more women candidates, reforming nomination processes so that qualified women are not left unaware of vacancies, official tracking of gender parity across the 10 committees, informal mentorship of candidates, and an explicit policy  statement from the High Commissioner calling for parity and prioritizing gender equality in the committees. She stated, "By nominating, lobbying for, and electing qualified women, states can close the current gap in gender parity." On the UN HRC, Kran served as Special Rapporteur on Follow-Up to Concluding Observations in 2019 – 2021 and led the process to assess the implementation of Committee recommendations at the national level. Additionally, she has been vocal about the valuable role civil society plays in the Committee's review of the civil and political rights performance of states. For example, she has noted, "[t]hey provide  up-to-date information on the actual implementation of human rights based on the lived experience of rightsholders in the country concerned, identifying who is affected and the extent of the problem...which would often not be possible for us to obtain...otherwise."  As Rapporteur, she visited Lao P.D.R. to discuss ways to strengthen national implementation of UN human rights recommendations with Laotian officials. Kran has spoken publicly about the role of the follow-up procedure in the implementation of human rights at the domestic level, stating that it is "influential in ensuring the work of the Committee has its  intended effect. It encourages States to demonstrate meaningful progress toward key human rights goals […] After States report to the Committee, they often make improvements by developing new laws and institutions, building capacity and reforming practice. The follow-up process is an opportunity to showcase the tangible progress they have made." Kran continues to work for the UN as an independent consultant on human rights and justice reform. Her recent consulting assignments have taken her to Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Ukraine, the Slovak Republic, and Turkey. She has taught international human rights law at the University of British Columbia and continues to deliver  guest lectures. Publications. In addition to contributing to numerous UN reports, Kran has published several law-related works including the following: Awards. In 2005 Kran was awarded the Walter S. Tarnopolsky Prize by the Canadian section of the International Commission of Jurists in recognition of her contributions to international human rights. In 2006 she received a Celebrated Alumnus Award from the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Arts. In 2020 she was appointed to the Order of Canada as an officer for her contributions to the advancement of international human rights and development, and for her steadfast advocacy of democratic  governance.