LRWC members defend rights and human rights defenders around the world
LRWC relies on your membership fees and donations make our work possible
Please renew your LRWC membership
See highlights of LRWC work in our 2020 Annual Report (pdf)
LRWC membership fees allow LRWC to provide pro bono research, education, and advocacy for lawyers and other human rights defenders at risk in many countries in the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for pro bono work by LRWC volunteers has intensified. LRWC has continued to contribute to the defense of rights and human rights lawyers and defenders throughout 2020, including the lawyers pictured above.
Building knowledge of international human rights
- Free Toolkit for Lawyers at Risk launched on the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, 24 January 2020, jointly produced with the International Bar Association’s International Human Rights Institute.
- Publication of LRWC’s book, Attacking Defenders: Criminalization of Human Rights Advocacy, free to download and now available free of charge on on CanLII.
- Research and a report contributing to the UN Human Rights Committee’s 2020 General Comment on freedom of assembly, and the UN’s 2020 review on UN human rights treaty bodies’ effectiveness.
- Articles in Canadian lawyers’ publications to raise awareness about the role of systemic racism in violations of defenders’ right to freedom of assembly (in Slaw.ca, a Canadian lawyers online magazine) and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (in Slaw.ca) and the situation of endangered lawyers and defenders worldwide in The Advocate, a BC lawyers’ magazine.
Advocacy
- Numerous letters and statements calling for protection of human rights lawyers and defenders. LRWC’s focus of in 2020-21 is on the rule of law in China, Turkey, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and LRWC volunteers also advocate for defenders in many other countries.
- More than a dozen statements presented at UN Human Rights Council seeking protection of human rights lawyers and defenders in several countries, including China, Iran, the Philippines, Turkey, South Sudan, Sudan, the United States, and Yemen.
Thank you for defending defenders and the rule of law around the world.
