Lawyers for Lawyers will be represented at the annual OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, to be held in Warsaw from 21 September to 2 October. Lawyers for Lawyers is involved in the organization of a side event during this year’s meeting.
Wednesday, 23 September, Time: 13:00-15:00 Venue: Opera
Title: Human Rights lawyers: Challenges and Professional Guaranties for legal Professionals
Convenor: Human Rights Embassy, American Bar association (ABA) Center for Human Rights, Human Rights House Network (HRHN), Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation (L4L), The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), OSCE/ODIHR
Summary:
Current Situation of Lawyers in Former Soviet countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) and presentation of the HRHN recommendations from the report “Human Rights Lawyers: Guaranties and Immunities”. Filing complaints with the international institutions and applying universal standards in the national courts puts human rights lawyers at risk. Arrests, searches of organizations and lawyers’ offices, and disbarment of lawyers who defend opponents of the states have become a common problem in the region. Lawyers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine will make presentations in the panel to address these issues. Legal associations and members of the Human Rights House Network have joined their efforts to bring the attention of States, bar associations, international organizations and human rights defenders to the need to strengthen national implementation of the legal framework regarding human rights defenders and the international standards on the professional guaranties for human rights lawyers, including the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. Lawyers from the countries participating in the Human Rights House Network’s Program “International Law in Advocacy” will present recommendations from the report “Human Rights Lawyers: Guaranties and Immunities” prepared in cooperation with experts of the Human Rights House Foundation and with the support of the ABA Center for Human Rights Justice Defenders program.
Panelists: Khalid Baghirov (Azerbaijan), Dmitry Chernyh (Belarus), Polina Zhukova (Kazakhstan), Khusanbai Saliev (Kyrgyzstan), Lela Metreveli (Moldova), Irina Biriukova (Russia), Viktor Smalii (Ukraine).
Moderator: Maria SLAZAK, CCBE President Opening and Introduction: the Head or Deputy Head of the Human Rights Department.
