The Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC)1 welcomes the updated Lawyers’ Letter published on the 3rd April 2024 which builds upon the Lawyers’ Letter of the 26th October 2023.2 BHRC has quoted previous versions of the Lawyers’ Letter echoing, in particular, calls for a ceasefire through letters to MPs sent on 15th November 2023 and 20th February 2024,...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) is an association of practicing barristers, legal academics, and law students dedicated to protecting the rights of advocates, judges, and human rights defenders around the world, and to promoting the principles of justice and respect for fundamental human rights internationally through the rule of...
In 2021, a group of lawyers and lawyers’ organisations came together to establish an annual International Fair Trial Day (IFTD) to be observed every year on 14 June. This initiative is supported by more than 100 legal associations across the world, all of which are committed to the vital importance of the right to...
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...
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 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...
The 29 Principles, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), International Association of People’s Lawyers – Australian Branch, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, American Association of the International Commission of Jurists, Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, Law Society of England and Wales, Paris...
Image Credit: Leonid Altman / Shutterstock The Bar Council of England and Wales and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) join the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) and Bar leaders around the world in expressing concern over the conviction of Richard Naidu by the High Court of Fiji for “scandalising” the...
Image Credit: Natanael Ginting / Shutterstock The Bar Council of England and Wales and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) join the international legal community’s call on the Iranian Government to end the arrest, detention, and intimidation of lawyers in Iran. These attacks represent a grave threat to the rule...
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.