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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24 april 2024

UN Special Rapporteur condemns China’s targeting of human rights lawyers in letter to the government

China

The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, issued a detailed letter on February 14, 2024, addressing the People’s Republic of China about severe restrictions on human rights lawyers. Recently made public, this letter exposes

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23 april 2024

Vacature Relatiemanager / Fondsenwerver (24 – 32 uur)

Ben jij een (ervaren) fondsenwerver die in op creatieve wijze succesvol de fondsenwervende ambitie van Lawyers for Lawyers op de kaart gaat zetten? Lawyers for Lawyers zet zich in voor een vrije en onafhankelijke advocatuur. Waar dan ook ter wereld.

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17 april 2024

Joint statement on the detention of Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, activist Xu Yan

China

Lawyers for Lawyers and 29 other civil society organisations have issued a joint statement expressing their grave concern regarding the detention of human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, activist Xu Yan. 13 April marks the first anniversary of

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16 april 2024

‘Flight to Lithuania’ — interview with Natalia Matskevich and Paulius Griciunas

Belarus

A new law has been passed in Lithuania which allows lawyers from outside the European Union to register as third-party lawyers in Lithuania. This legislative advance is of great symbolic importance according to Belarusian lawyer Natalia Matskevich. By Trudeke Sillevis

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11 april 2024

Joint statement on the escalated harassment and threats faced by lawyers in Algeria

Algeria

Lawyers for Lawyers, SHOAA for Human Rights and the Law Society of England and Wales have issued a joing statement expressing their grave concern regarding the escalation of prosecutions against lawyers for their work defending people involved in the Hirak

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10 april 2024

Vacature student-stage – 24 uur/week per 1 Juni 2024

Gemiddeld 24 uur/wk, per 1 Juni 2024 Wil jij het verschil maken voor bedreigde advocaten die opkomen voor de rechten van anderen? Wil jij leren hoe een NGO werkt en een netwerk opbouwen met advocaten van kleine en grote kantoren?

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9 april 2024

IACHR historic ruling on Colombia’s responsibility for harassment and persecution against members of the CAJAR

Colombia

In a historic ruling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared on the 18th of March 2024 that the Colombian State was responsible for the harassment and persecution against the members of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective Corporation (CAJAR).

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8 april 2024

Save the date 16 May 2024: Seminar ‘Law as an Instrument for Change: Advancing LGBTQI+ Rights in Court and Beyond’

Lawyers for Lawyers and the Amsterdam Bar Association would like to cordially invite you to join the seminar ‘Law as an Instrument for Change: Advancing LGBTQI+ Rights in Court and Beyond’ in theatre de Rode Hoed in Amsterdam on Thursday,

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