We advocate for laws, policies and practices that ensure protection for the independence and safety of lawyers

Influence

We pleiten voor een vrije en onafhankelijke advocatuur. We reizen naar de VN in Genève voor presentaties en we spreken vertegenwoordigers van regeringen (advocacy). Daar benadrukken we continu het belang van de UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, de internationale afspraken over de onafhankelijke rol van advocaten. Ook organiseren we bijeenkomsten voor Nederlandse advocaten, kantoren en ordes, om hen bewust te maken van de situatie van hun internationale collega’s. En via kanalen zoals social media delen we de verhalen van advocaten die door hun werk bedreigd of vervolgd worden.

Als onderdeel van ons “influence” programma voeren wij een actieve lobby voor wetten en beleid die een vrije en onafhankelijke beroepsuitoefening van de advocatuur nastreven, in overeenstemming met internationaal erkende principes en standaarden.

Dit doen wij door:

  • Het lobbyen van internationale instanties en hun mechanismen om te pleiten voor standaarden, resoluties en aanbevelingen die de onafhankelijkheid en veiligheid van advocaten versterken.
  • Het lobbyen van overheden om effectieve rechtsbescherming in te stellen, te implementeren en af te dwingen, en waar nodig, wetten te wijzigingen die de onafhankelijke beroepsuitoefening van de advocatuur.

Consultative status

Lawyers for Lawyers has been granted the special consultative status by the UN Economic and Social Council, also known as the ECOSOC status. The status gives us the right to participate in meetings of the Council, its functional commissions and other subsidiary bodies.

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Fact finding missions

Reports of missions in which independent experts present their findings about the information they have gathered and the research they have done into the facts about a particular situation or conflict, are valuable sources of information for the United Nations and other state institutions and organizations to be able to act.

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15 november 2024

Joint statement: the harassment of Crimean human rights defenders and lawyers Rustem Kyamilev and Lilia Hemedzhy needs to end

In a joint statement, Lawyers for Lawyers and partners strongly condemn the violent raid on 7 November on the home of Crimean human rights defenders and lawyers Lilia Hemedzhy and Rustem Kyamilev, resulting in the arbitrary arrest and detention of

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13 november 2024

Joint Statement on the Ongoing Harassment of Algerian Lawyer Mourad Zenati

Algeria

Lawyers for Lawyers, SHOAA for Human Rights, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute express grave concern regarding the arbitrary travel restrictions imposed on Algerian human rights lawyer Mourad Zenati, which is

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8 november 2024

Chinese human rights lawyer’s situation worsens: Xu Zhiyong must be released

China

In a joint statement, Lawyers for Lawyers, The Law Society of England and Wales (‘the Law Society’), Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, Asian Lawyers Network, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, 29 Principles, The Rights Practice, and the Council of

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8 november 2024

Joint statement on the arrest and detention of lawyer Bedirhan Sarsılmaz

Türkiye

In a joint statement, Lawyers for Lawyers, the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights, Fédération des Barreaux d’Europe, and the Law Society of England and Wales express their grave concern about the arrest and detention of lawyer

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5 november 2024

Defying the Odds: Lawyer Battling discriminatory Laws and Social Stigma towards the LGBTQIA+ community in Nigeria

Nigeria

For both his safety and that of his clients, the lawyer featured in this interview has asked to remain anonymous. The name “Mr. Stone” used throughout the article is therefore an alias.    Championing Justice: Mr. Stone’s Commitment to Human

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5 november 2024

Joint Statement on the sentencing of Chinese human rights lawyers Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan

China

Lawyers for Lawyers, together with five other human rights and lawyers’ rights organisations, has issued a statement condemning the sentencing of Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan. We believe they are being targeted for their

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31 oktober 2024

Joint Statement on the ongoing Arbitrary Detention of Egyptian lawyer Hoda Abdelmonem

Egypt

Lawyers for Lawyers, the FreeHoda Campaign and other human rights and lawyers’ organisations, express grave concern for the ongoing arbitrary detention of lawyer and human rights defender Hoda Abdelmonem. For over six years Hoda has been detained on fabricated charges,

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30 oktober 2024

Joint intervention on the Detention of Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Lu Siwei

On 21 October 2024, L4L and partners expressed grave concern over the arrest and detention of human rights lawyer Lu Siwei in a joint intervention letter to the Chinese authorities. The letter reads as follows: Your Excellency, The Law Society

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