Saudi Arabia: Women’s rights defender Loujain Al-Hathloul released after three years in prison | Welcome Developments
11/02/2021
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada welcomes the release of women’s rights defender, Loujain Al-Hathloul, after 1001 days of imprisonment on spurious charges. She was released on 10 February 2021 after persistent international pressure, including interventions by LRWC. Ms Al-Hathloul was arrested in May … [Read more...]
Turkey: International law obligations to release arbitrarily detained lawyer Mr. Aytaç Ünsal | Letter
08/02/2021
Full PDF (ENG) 8 February 2021 Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan The President of Turkey Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi 06560 Beştepe- Ankara-Turkey Fax : (+90 312) 525 58 31 E-mail: contact@tccb.gov.tr Mr. Abdulhamit Gül Minister of Justice 06659 Kizilay Ankara, Turkey Fax: +90 (0312) 419 … [Read more...]
Azerbaijan: Day of the Endangered Lawyer 24th January 2021 | Petition
05/01/2021
Full PDF Petition See an invitation to a related online event to be held 21 January 2021. 11th DAY OF THE ENDANGERED LAWYER 24th January 2021 - AZERBAIJAN: The struggle to protect Azerbaijani lawyers The DAY OF THE ENDANGERED LAWYER is commemorated each year on 24 January. On … [Read more...]
Doing the two-step on uneven platforms: Successes and setbacks of human rights advocacy
30/12/2020
First published by Slaw.ca, Canada's online legal magazine, on 30 December 2020 Human rights advocates are sometimes asked whether human rights advocacy works. Most human rights defenders answer in the form of anecdotes, because empirical research on effectiveness is scarce in a world where human … [Read more...]
Watch the “NASRIN” Sotoudeh Film Seminar held 4 December | Event recording
09/12/2020
UPDATE 9 December 2020: Recording of the seminar (off this site) UPDATE: 4 December 2020: Iran: Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Sent Back to Prison on 1 December 2020. Joint Statement Seminar – “NASRIN” Sotoudeh Film Nasrin Sotoudeh is renowned worldwide for her work as a lawyer in Iran. She … [Read more...]
Iran: Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Sent Back to Prison | Joint Statement
04/12/2020
Full PDF (ENG) We, the undersigned 26 Bar Associations, Law Societies, and organisations supporting the legal profession of over 14 countries, stand in solidarity with our Iranian colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh and other lawyers in Iran who are being persecuted by their Government for carrying … [Read more...]
United Nations Guidance Note: Protection and Promotion of Civic Space | Welcome Development
04/12/2020
UN_Guidance_Note (PDF) (UN Link to Guidance Note) | UN_Guidance_Note_Executive_Summary (PDF) (UN_Link to Executive Summary) Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada welcomes the launch of the UN Guidance Note on Protection and Promotion of Civic Space. The Guidance Note affirms the role and responsibility … [Read more...]
Turkey: 5th anniversary of extrajudicial killing of human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi: Effective investigation remains lacking | Joint Statement
27/11/2020
Full PDF (ENG) | Full PDF (TUR) The undersigned organisations have been following recent developments in the case involving the prosecution of police officers allegedly involved in the killing of human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi in November 2015. We are concerned that the prosecution, as … [Read more...]
ATTACKING DEFENDERS: The Criminalization of Human Rights Advocacy | now available at CanLII
14/10/2020
Free .pdf download | Now available on CanLii Foreword by Michel Forst Press release Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada is pleased to announce that ATTACKING DEFENDERS: THE CRIMINALIZATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY A guide to international law rights of human rights defenders is now available on … [Read more...]
United States: Joint Oral Statement to the UN Human Rights Council on systemic racism and police violence | Joint statement led by ACLU
01/10/2020
Full PDF (ENG) See the joint oral statement LRWC was among 300 NGOs from more than 60 countries that joined a 1 October 2020 oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council led by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The oral statement was a follow up to the Council's June 2020 Resolution 43/1 … [Read more...]
