With a New Year comes renewed cautious hope—an opportunity to harness energies for positivity and change. With that spirit, I am delighted to pick up the reins as the new Chair for Bar Human Rights Committee in the knowledge that 2019 will continue to present fundamental challenges for human rights across the world. As the global narrative becomes dominated by...
On 31 December 2018, the Court of Cassation in Bahrain upheld the 5 year sentence of human rights activist Nabeel Rajab for tweets critical of the Saudi Arabia attack on Yemen and accusing the Bahraini prison authorities of torture. BHRC Chair Kirsty Brimelow QC issued the following statement: “Bahrain’s Court of Cassation is in violation...
The Bar Human Rights Committee joined other professional bodies in raising concern for the safety of Colombian Lawyer Daniel Prado Albarracin, currently representing victims of crimes committed by the paramilitary group “The 12 Apostles.” The open letter was sent to the President of the Republic of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez, and was signed by BHRC, the...
BHRC has issued a public statement expressing serious concern at the recent arrests by Turkish authorities of academics and activists. The arrests appear consistent with a sustained attack on dissent as a means of silencing critical voices within Turkey. On 16 November 2018 fourteen high-profile activists and academics were arrested in Turkey. Turkish authorities issued...
In response to reports that Asia Bibi’s lawyer, Saif Ul Malook, has received death threats and been granted temporary asylum in the Netherlands, legal leaders in England and Wales have made the following statements. Andrew Walker QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said: “No lawyer, in any jurisdiction, should fear intimidation or violence for doing...
BHRC Chair Kirsty Brimelow QC is concluding her term as Chair after 6 years as the Chair and 15 years on the Executive Committee. Nominations for Chair are now open. Any member of BHRC can be nominated for Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee and all members are entitled to put forward nominations and vote. Nominations should...
In December 2018, Kirsty Brimelow QC will conclude 6 years as Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. BHRC is hosting a special event in her honour and in celebration of her 15 years’ work with BHRC on 12 December 2018 at 18:30 at Doughty Street Chambers. In conversation with Baroness Helena Kennedy...
Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales and ARTICLE 19 will host a panel discussion highlighting urgent and continuing concerns about freedom of expression and the rule of law in Turkey, which has jailed more journalists than any other worldwide in the last two years. The panel event, chaired by Ms Ann Clwyd MP, is hosted...
The Bar Human Rights Committee will be hosting a panel discussion at the Annual Bar and Young Conference 2018 in London on 24 November 2018. The panel “A Global Mission: Championing Women in the Fight for Human Rights” will be a dynamic discussion on how women in the legal professions represent and champion women, including...
On the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty, BHRC has issued a statement raising awareness about conditions of confinement in Bahrain, Egypt, Jamaica and the United States–countries where BHRC has taken an active role in advocating against the death penalty. In its statement, BHRC reaffirms its condemnation of the death penalty in all circumstances and...
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.