In 1997, the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó in the North-West region of Urabá, Colombia, declared itself neutral to the five-decade armed conflict, a civilian protection strategy based on international humanitarian law. Since then, the community has suffered many killings and reprisals....
On Monday 29th June, BHRC and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law held a joint seminar on the topic of human rights in the Middle East. Speaking on the panel were Dr. Vida Hamd, Policy Officer for Political and Humanitarian Affairs at the Dutch Embassy in Beirut; Schona Jolly, BHRC Executive Committee member...
This seminar will explore existing and emerging forces across the Middle East four years after the start of the 'Arab Spring'. The panellists will examine the current human rights situation across the Arab world. In particular, the speakers will consider new trends in women’s activism and political participation in post-uprising Arab countries and the challenges being faced by human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists as an essential aspect of the rule of law....
On Monday 22nd June, BHRC hosted a film-screening of the recent documentary ‘Burden of Peace’ which tells the story of Dr. Claudia Paz y Paz, the first woman to lead the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala. The film intimately follows Claudia’s struggle against corruption and impunity in her country, focussing on her courageous move to arrest...
The documentary ‘Burden of Peace' tells the story of Claudia Paz y Paz, the first woman to lead the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala.The country that has been ravaged for years by a devastating civil war is today one of the most violent in the world. Claudia starts a frontal attack against corruption, drug gangs and impunity and does what everyone had hitherto held to be impossible: she arrests former dictator Efraín Rios Montt on charges of genocide.....
On 6th March, Plan UK, BHRC and Doughty Street Chambers held a special screening of the ground breaking film India’s Daughter, which tells the story of the brutal gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in Delhi in 2012, exposing the attitudes to women which allowed it to happen. The film powerfully explores the wider social...
On 24th March, UN International Day for the Right to Truth, Kirsty Brimelow QC, BHRC Chair, took part in a CHRI debate on Sri Lanka on the question Will the delay of the OISL report help the victims? Other panellists included human rights barrister, Shivani Jegarajah, and award-winning film-maker, Callum Macrae. A podcast of the debate...
Five human rights or ‘rights protecting’ weiquan lawyers from China spoke at a roundtable event hosted by the Bar Human Rights Committee and the Law Society on Thursday 5th March. One of the lawyers talked about the infamous Jiansanjiang incident which took place in Heilongjiang Province, northern China in March 2013. This case provoked worldwide...
On Monday 2nd March the Bar Human Rights Committee and the UK Bahá’í Community held a joint seminar to examine Iran’s failure to act in response to its 2010 Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Speakers Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law, and Iranian human rights lawyer, Shadi Sadr, explored the challenges for the Government of Iran...
On the eve of International Human Rights Day, Kirsty Brimelow QC, BHRC Chair, spoke on the subject of universal jurisdiction at an event entitled: ‘Human Rights: Available in a court near you or in selected venues only?’ hosted by Bindmans LLP. The other speakers included: Geoffrey Bindman QC (hon), Saimo Chahal QC (hon), Ben Emmerson QC and Carla Ferstman,...
The Bar Human Rights Committee is the independent,
international human rights arm of the Bar of England
and Wales, dedicated to promoting justice and respect
for human rights through the rule of law.