HDIM 2017 Side event: Lawyers Need Legal Protections too
The Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2017 (HDIM)
“Lawyers Need Legal Protections too: Human Rights Lawyers Working in Challenging
Environments”
Warsaw National Stadium (PGE Narodowy), Aleja Poniatowskiego 1, GATE 1, 2nd floor
September 20, 2017, Room 1, 13:15-14:45
Refreshments will be provided
Panel Speakers:
| Maria Slazak | Moderator, Former President of CCBE
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| Temur Shakirov | Legal Adviser, International Commission of Jurists
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| Olga Salamatova | Legal Expert, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
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| Anara Ibraeva | Lawyer from Kazakhstan, Public Association “Dignity”
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| Nikolai Polozov | Lawyer from the Russian Federation, working in Crimea
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| Farangis Zikriyaeva | Lawyer from Tajikistan, Human Rights Matter
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| Ruslan Myatiev | Human rights defender living in exile, Alternative Turkmenistan News
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| Dmitry Tihonov | Human rights defender from Uzbekistan living in exile
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Abstract:
Justice International (JI), Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) worked together to bring a panel of experts, lawyers and human rights defenders to discuss the important role lawyers play while performing all of their professional functions in challenging conditions under intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference. The speakers will begin by outlining the main standards of the lawyers’ role as established in the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the highlighting the need for more protections by illustrating through specific cases from Belarus, Crimea, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The speakers will highlight the circumstances that undermine lawyers’ independence such as licensing, disciplinary, civil, and criminal procedures and how those are used by the executive and judicial branches to put pressure on lawyers working on sensitive cases. They will finish by discussing the ways to move towards finding solutions and providing recommendations for international community in defending lawyers working under threat.