Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash
ISHR’s legal team is made up of two passionate human rights lawyers. Our strategic litigation at international, regional and national levels aims at ensuring human rights defenders have the freedom to effectively and safely protect and promote human rights; that perpetrators are held accountable and victims are provided with adequate remedies when human rights violations occur.
Our strategic litigation at international, regional and national levels aims at ensuring human rights defenders have the freedom to effectively and safely protect and promote human rights; that perpetrators are held accountable and victims are provided with adequate remedies when human rights violations occur.
With pro bono support of leading international law firms, we file and manage cases and amicus briefs with international, regional, and national courts and bodies. We also conduct advocacy to strengthen international systems considering these cases, so they are more effective, transparent, and accessible.
Our strategic advocacy and interventions pursue several objectives:
At a side event co-organised by ISHR on the sidelines of the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, panellists reflected on developments and regress regarding the protection of defenders’ rights 25 years after the adoption of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders. They also commented on the role of the Declaration +25.
In a series of groundbreaking rulings in early 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Colombia set new precedents that significantly enhance protections for human rights defenders across Latin America.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights examines the Escazú Agreement's role in safeguarding environmental defenders, a landmark move for climate justice and human rights.
At the 2023 meeting of UN Treaty Body chairpersons, ISHR raised concerns about the patterns of reprisals committed by China against individuals who engage with Treaty Bodies. ISHR and NGO partners also took the opportunity to discuss a range of practical measures related to NGO engagement as a follow-up to the 2020 review process.
ISHR welcomes the adoption by the Committee against Torture (CAT) of a procedure that enables the submission of third party interventions to individual communications. By doing so, the CAT aligns with the practice of fellow UN Treaty Bodies.
On 15 June 2022, the National Assembly of Niger passed a law on the rights and duties of human rights defenders. This makes Niger the fourth African country to adopt such a law. However, for the law to produce the desired effects, it must be widely known and understood by all stakeholders. The establishment of an independent and inclusive protection mechanism will ensure the full implementation of the law.
