Sir Henry Brooke, Alirio Uribe (José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective) and James Lupton (translator) during the launch of the campaign “Alliance for Lawyers at Risk” in London, November 2010. Photo: PBI UK.
Lawyers in most parts of Western Europe and the United States take it for granted that their personal safety will not be compromised by their work. For them, it would be unthinkable that they might be threatened just for doing their jobs, whether representing individuals or group actions, challenging public institutions or powerful companies.
Many young lawyers go into the profession because of their belief in the inherent good of the law and in the importance of Rule of Law in a fair and just society. The concept of Pro Bono is important – where lawyers undertake legal work for the public good, without taking a fee.
In the last few years, PBI UK has connected with many members of the British legal sector. They have become passionate supporters of PBI, especially its accompaniment of threatened lawyers in the field. Many have chosen to give their time Pro Bono to support these lawyers.
PBI UK's Lawyers' Advisory Committee (LAC) is made up of solicitors, barristers, legal academics and a retired Appeal Court judge. Since 2007, the LAC has helped PBI UK develop its relationship with the legal profession, and has instigated important initiatives, including three fact-finding visits of lawyers to Colombia and Mexico. These independent delegations toured the regions where PBI works, and carried out research on the challenges faced by lawyers, launching reports in the British parliament on their return.
The Alliance for Lawyers at Risk is the latest project developed with the support of the LAC. The aim of the Alliance is to enable individual lawyers to support threatened lawyers or human rights defenders working on legal issues. This can be through hands-on Pro Bono work, applying their professional expertise, experience and networks to give assistance or raise awareness, or through donations to PBI to enable us to continue offering protective accompaniment to human rights defenders working for rule of law and challenging impunity.
PBI UK launched the Alliance at the London offices of law firm Simmons and Simmons on 10 November 2010. Around 120 high-profile legal professionals and supporters attended the event, which was addressed by Dominic Grieve, the British Attorney-General, and Alirio Uribe Muñoz of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Collective (CCAJAR) in Colombia. 60 legal academics, judges, high-profile lawyers and city firms endorsed the initiative by becoming founding members, and many more joined at the launch event.
Alliance members have already carried out some actions in relation to an emblematic case that has significant implications in the fight against impunity and for rule of law in Mexico.
In November 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) found the Mexican state responsible for the forced disappearance of Rosendo Radilla Pacheco, issuing a sentence that ordered, among other things, the reform of the Military Justice Code, to ensure that human rights violations committed by members of the Mexican armed forces would no longer be investigated and tried in military courts. It also demanded prompt and effective investigations into Radilla’s fate and whereabouts[1].
This seemed a great victory for Radilla's family and the relatives of other victims of forced disappearance in Mexico, who had endured years of threats during their struggle for justice. However, as the sentence was not fulfilled during the course of 2010, jubilance turned to disappointment, leading to protest within Mexico and internationally.
Alliance members have urged Mexico to comply with the IACtHR ruling. Members of the International Bar Association, the Law Society, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the Solicitors' International Human Rights Group wrote to the Mexican government, laying out detailed legal arguments in favour of compliance, with reference to national and international law.
Collaboration with the Alliance is not limited to legal professionals in Britain. PBI USA is developing a similar project, and it is hoped that lawyers from all parts of the world who are able to work in safety will be able to participate in support of their overseas colleagues working under threat.
Working together in this way, they will help strengthen the fight against impunity, leading to a safer world for human rights defenders and citizens everywhere.