Louise Arbour, former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada was appointed as the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (UNHCHR) for a four year term commencing July 1, 2004. In March 2008 Mme Arbour announced that she would not be seeking a second term and so would be retiring as the … [Read more...]

At approximately 2:00 pm on December 2, 2003 Rocco Galati defense counsel on several prominent cases involving allegations of links to terrorists and other breaches of national security legislation, received a threatening message from his voicemail. In a gravely voice the caller said: "Well, Mr. … [Read more...]

On 4 July 2007, Seng Saron was shot to death by an unknown person while at home. Mr. Saron was a human rights defender, community leader and member of the Culture and Environment Preservation Association. He actively encouraged people in his community to protest about forestry, fishing and land … [Read more...]

Francisco Lúcio França, Isabel Peres and José de Jesus Filho are involved in the prosecution of two police officers accused in the September 27, 2002 murder of Anderson do Carmo, 16, and Celso Gioelli Magalhães Júnior., 20, in Mongagúa municipality in São Paulo State. On March 21, 2005, after the … [Read more...]

On January 28, 2004 Erastótenes de Almeida Gonçalves, Nelson José da Silva and João Batista Soares Lages were driving in the State of Minas Gerais to visit the property of a landowner who was suspected of employing slave labour when they were each shot in the head by individuals driving a Fiat … [Read more...]

Dr. Elma Novais and her children Jefferson and Roxana have gone through a campaign of veiled threats and intimidation that appears designed to intimidate Dr. Novais who has been working tirelessly to bring to justice those responsible for killing her son, Josenildo Joao de Freitas Junior. He was … [Read more...]

Conceição Paganele, President and founder of Associação de Mães e Amigos de Crianças e Adolescentes em Risco (AMAR), The Association of Mothers and Friends of Children and Adolescents at risk & is key critic of Sao Paulo’s juvenile detention system, known as FEBEM (Fundação Estadual do Bem-Estar … [Read more...]

Antonio Fernandez Saez, lawyer with dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, provides legal assistance to the socially deprived inhabitants of the Jardim Lavinia, Silvinha & Montanhao neighborhoods in Sao Bernardo do Campo. He also provides voluntary legal support to the human rights chapter of … [Read more...]

There have been several reports of threats against the legal advisors and leaders of indigenous organizations involved in an ongoing land dispute in the territory of Monte Verde. On October 18th 1996, the President of the Republic of Bolivia officially recognized the territory of Monte Verde. … [Read more...]

Adalberto Rojas, male, lawyer and President of Bolivian non-governmental organization, the Asamblea Permanente en Santa Cruz de la Sierra (APDH), Permanent Human Rights Assembly in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santa Cruz Department, has been threatened and intimidated. His life, and those of others … [Read more...]