The Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for our upcoming virtual panel event, Protecting Mental Health and Building Resilience: A Dialogue for Human Rights Defenders, which will be held on Thursday 21 July 2022 @ 2pm (UK) on Zoom. As we well know, human rights work demands extraordinary resilience and courage from defenders and practitioners who often work under immense personal risk and pressures which put them at greater risk of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, which can manifest as physical illnesses and adversely impa ..read more

The Yazidi Justice Committee will launch a key report on State Responsibility and the Yazidi Genocide on 06 July The Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC) is a member organisation of the Yazidi Justice Committee (YJC), formed in early 2020 as an ad hoc body of the following organisations: Accountability Unit; Women for Justice; International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI); Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales; and the Geoffrey Nice Foundation. Since March 2020, YJC has been investigating allegations of genocide committed against the Yazidis fro ..read more

Dear Foreign Secretary, We are writing on behalf of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) to raise our concerns about the serious threat to human rights and the rule of law in Sri Lanka, to raise awareness as necessary and seek an inter-governmental response.[1] Since gaining independence in 1948 Sri Lanka and Britain have maintained strong ties and mutual respect.  Britain’s diplomatic and political intervention at this most troubling of times is needed urgently. Mass protests by the public are ..read more

Image Credit: Shutterstock / Thomas Koch   ARTICLE 19 and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) condemn the aggravated life sentence given to Osman Kavala and the 18-year sentences handed down to Mucella Yapici, Çiğdem Mater, Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi in relation to the Gezi Park protests in 2013. These convictions are the latest in a series of grave injustices against civil society in Turkey. We call for the immediate release and acquittal of all eight human rights defenders. Following manifestly unfair legal pro ..read more

Further to a highly welcomed decision by the US to approve BHRC as one of only two non-US NGOs with International Observer status, BHRC has for many years kept a watching brief on the use of the detention facility at the United States Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and procedural developments in the Military Commissions established under the Military Commissions Act 2009. BHRC has expressed its concerns on the continued use of the detention facility together with broader issues arising out of the ‘War on Terror’, including extraordinary rendition and torture. Jacob Bindman and Amanda Weston ..read more

The right to a fair trial has long been recognised by the international community as a fundamental human right. Without a fair trial, every individual risks becoming the victim of a miscarriage of justice, either as an innocent suspect wrongly convicted, or as a victim unable to secure justice for a wrong perpetrated against him or her. In 2021, an annual International Fair Trial Day was established with a steering group, and the event was supported by more than 100 legal associations. The first conference was held as a virtual event on 14 June 2021 with a focus on fair trial rights in T ..read more

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) is delighted to announce that Schona Jolly QC, former Chair of BHRC, has joined our Advisory Board. Schona was the Chair of BHRC from 2019-2021, and stepped down at the end of her term in December 2021 after three years as Chair and a decade of commitment to the BHRC Executive Committee. The BHRC Advisory Board is made up of previous BHRC Office Holders, senior members of the Bar and the judiciary, and individuals who have demonstrated outstanding commitment and/or service to the field of human rights. Members of the Advisory Board ..read more

Dear Foreign Secretary, The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) utterly condemns the mass execution of 81 men by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday 12 March 2022.[i] BHRC is particularly concerned that Saudi Arabia continues to renege on promises made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to limit the use of the death penalty.[ii] The UK and BHRC share a longstanding opposition to the death penalty under all circumstances. International law requires countries that retain the death penalty, like Saudi Arabia, to limit its use to offences resulting in intentional killing ..read more

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) condemns the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has been ongoing since 2014 and intensifying since 24 February 2022. We join with the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Bar of Northern Ireland, the Faculty of Advocates and the Bar of Ireland in so doing.[1] At least 549 civilians are known to have been killed to date, 41 of whom were children, and at least 957 civilians have been injured.[2] Over two million civilians have fled Ukraine.[3] There is also clear evidence of attacks on civilian buildings and a failure to en ..read more

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) are proud to be a promoting partner of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2022. The festival is taking place from 17-25 March 2022, with streaming available in the UK and Ireland and live screenings at the Barbican Centre in London. See the festival’s website for full listings here BHRC would especially highlight Judges Under Pressure and Myanmar Diaries : Judges Under Pressure Looks at the attempts by Polish government to arrest and detain judges, who are under fire for attempting to carry out the rule of law. The film showcases ..read more