The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) is delighted to announce that Michael Ivers KC has been elected as chair of BHRC from 1 January 2024. The following (in alphabetical order) have been elected as EC members from 1 January 2024: Rachel Barnes KC Soraya Bauwens Jodie Blackstock Bill Bowring Joanne...
The Bar Human Rights Committee notes that MPs are due to debate the situation in Gaza, including voting in relation to a ceasefire. BHRC notes that a lawyers’ letter, signed by over 1,000 legal practitioners and academics, and originally sent to the Prime Minister on 26 October 2023, has now been sent to all Members...
The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a statement yesterday (10 October) on the human rights situation in Israel and the OPT. The Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC) endorses the High Commissioner’s condemnation of recent Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, shares his concerns about the consequences of a siege on Gaza, and...
On 18th August 2023 the Military Commission in the case of United States of America v Al-Nashiri gave a ruling on a request for the suppression (or exclusion) of statements made by Mr Al-Nashiri to US Government officials in January 2007 after he was officially returned to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility following four years...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) is seeking an energetic and experienced professional with confidence in project management, fundraising and governance to join the team as a part-time Project Officer. The successful candidate will work closely with BHRC’s Executive Committee and Project Team on the day-to-day coordination of BHRC’s varied programme...
The BHRC Chair and Executive Committee are delighted to announce that BHRC was officially voted into the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at a special session in New York on 25 July 2023. As the independent, autonomous human rights arm of the Bar Council, the admittance of BHRC to ECOSOC is a strong...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) joins many international bodies and organisations in expressing grave concerns regarding the arrest and detention of well-known Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei by Lao authorities since 28 July 2023. There are serious concerns that he is at risk of forced repatriation to China where...
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and BHRC, supported by the Right to Enter campaign, have collaborated on a new report on Israel’s recent rules on the entry and residence of foreign nationals in the West Bank, published this week. Israel’s new rules on the entry and residence of foreign nationals in the...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales joins Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the International Commission of Jurists, The Law Society of England and Wales, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights, and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) in expressing...
On 01 June 2023, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) launched its latest Guantanamo Military Commissions Trial Observation Report with a virtual panel event. Chaired by Stephen Cragg KC, Chair of BHRC, this event brought together an expert panel which consisted of J Wells Dixon, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights...
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.