Human Rights topics
Supporting lawyers in Pakistan
Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan Thanks Law Society for Support
April 2009
The Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan has written to the Law Society of England and Wales to thank the Society and Council Member Razi Shah for supporting the lawyers' movement.
Human rights symposium
"The recent symposium organised by the Law Society’s International Human Rights Committee in conjunction with the Essex University Human Rights Centre marked a huge advance in the Society’s engagement with the legal profession’s greatest moral challenge: upholding human rights", said Sir Geoffrey Bindman.
Read Sir Geoffrey's full article here.
Graham Turnbull Human Rights Essay Competition Winner
On 29 April 2009, Laura White was announced winner of the Graham Turnbull Essay Competition and received a cheque for £500.
Michael Lightfoot was runner-up and received £250 book tokens from LexisNexis.
The essay title was "Can international human rights law provide meaningful obligations for business?".
Urgent appeals from other organisations
The Law Society already has its own intervention programme. Its volunteers from the International Action Team draft letters of intervention when human rights issues fall within the Law Society’s mandate.
Interventions by the International Action Team
The number of trained human rights volunteers to just under 300 since the first training course took place in London on 10 December 2007. The training provides an overview of international human rights, and explains how to research and write Law Society intervention letters.
Colombia rule of law initiatives
Colombia Caravana:
The Law Society is pleased to have assisted a group of UK lawyers in publishing a report, on 6 May 2009, into the daily threats to the lives of Colombian human rights lawyers.
More than 400 Colombian lawyers have been murdered since 1991. No-one has been prosecuted for these killings.
Burma cyclone appeal
The Law Society is part of the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Rapid Response Network (RRN). The RRN provides support and services that are crucial to the success of each DEC appeal. We encourage solicitors and practices to donate to the DEC to support the relief efforts in Burma.