Creative rule of law expert named to international justice organization

By Cadence Quaranta

June 12, 2018

The Organization of American States General Assembly unanimously approved Creative Senior Rule of Law Advisor Jenny Murphy to serve on the Board of Directors of a leading international organization on justice sector reform in the Americas.

Murphy will begin her four-year term on Jan. 1, 2019 as one of seven board members to the Justice Studies Center of the Americas, an OAS affiliate agency headquartered in Santiago, Chile.

After the June 5 vote, Murphy said she was humbled by her nomination and subsequent confirmation and said she looks forward to sharing her expertise and a U.S. perspective with the agency, also known by its Spanish acronym CEJA.

“It is an honor to be on this board, and I will hopefully help with the direction of CEJA in the next four years, as new challenges present themselves on justice sector reform in the region,” she said.

CEJA convenes experts and academics in the fields of justice and rule of law to aid OAS member states in their justice sector reform design, review and implementation. The organization focuses on providing training for public defenders and prosecutors, as well as other key justice sector positions; aiding in the revision of criminal procedure codes; and other rule of law initiatives.

Murphy joined Creative in January 2017 to lead its rule of law initiative as part of the Citizen Security Practice Area. She spent over 15 years as a senior advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, focusing primarily on Latin America.

In her role on the Board of Directors, Murphy will travel to Santiago for annual meetings to advise CEJA and participating OAS member countries on future steps after a wave of significant justice sector reform efforts in the last 25 years. Murphy said she looks forward to advising on programming in individual countries while also working with CEJA on advancing justice and human rights throughout the Western Hemisphere.

“After many years of justice sector reform efforts sponsored by multiple donors, new challenges, such as systemic corruption and high impunity rates, threaten to erode rule of law in the Americas,” she said. “So what is the role of the justice system both domestically and internationally to address these challenges? CEJA aims to help countries and the region answer that question and develop solutions to improve and sustain rule of law.”

Cadence Quaranta is an intern with Creative’s Communications team. She will be studying Journalism and International Relations at Northwestern University in the fall.