Publications
United Nations Treaty Body Review: Informal Consultations 28 August 2020 | Oral Statement
Full pdf oral statement (ENG) See LRWC's full briefing paper See the informal consultations on the review of the United Nations human rights treaty body system: New York: 27 July 2020. Geneva: 28 August 2020, morning and afternoon (video). Direct link to oral video … [Read more...]
Turkey: Lawyer Ebru Timtik has died while fasting to demand a fair trial | Update
Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada is deeply saddened by the death of Turkish lawyer Ms. Ebru Timtik on 27 August 2020 after 238 days of fasting to strengthen her demand for a fair trial for herself and hundreds of other Turkish lawyers detained for lawfully performing their roles as lawyers. Ebru … [Read more...]
Philippines: UN Human Rights Council should urgently launch an independent international investigative mechanism on human rights situation | Joint Letter
Full PDF (ENG) To member and observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council Re: UN Human Rights Council should urgently launch an independent international investigative mechanism on the human rights situation in the Philippines Geneva, 27 August 2020 Your … [Read more...]
Canada: Federal Court invalidates Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement saying its impact “shocks the conscience” | Update
UPDATE: 21 August 2020: LRWC is disappointed that Canada's federal government has chosen to appeal the 23 July 2020 Federal Court of Canada ruling that the Canada-US does not measure up to Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair issued a statement on Friday 21 … [Read more...]
Burundi: Vital role of the Commission of Inquiry in prompting meaningful human rights progress | Joint Letter
Full PDF (EN) | Full PDF (FR) To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland 21 August 2020 Burundi: Vital role of the Commission of Inquiry in prompting meaningful human rights … [Read more...]
Belarus: Brutal Post-Election Crackdown on Peaceful Protestors Must End | Joint Statement
Full PDF (ENG) STATEMENT Belarus: Brutal Post-Election Crackdown on Peaceful Protestors Must End The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (“LRWC”) condemn the mass arrests, violence and excessive use of force against peaceful protesters … [Read more...]
Turkey: Urgent letter to UN Special Procedures on arbitrary detention of lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, currently near death
Full pdf letter requesting Urgent Action On 18 August 2020, LRWC joined in an urgent letter from a group of 17 lawyers' organizations from to UN Special Procedures expressing "grave concern about two lawyers who have been on hunger strike since 2 February 2020 in demand for a fair trial." The two … [Read more...]
Turkey: Lawyers on hunger strike near death, demanding fair trials and administration of justice in Turkey | Joint Statement
Full pdf joint statement endorsed by Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada The undersigned organisations have been following recent developments in the cases of human rights lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, who have been on hunger strike since February 2020. On 5 April 2020, the Turkish Day of the … [Read more...]
USA: Letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Implementation of the Resolution on Police Violence and Structural Racism | Joint letter
Full PDF (ENG) Led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 143 families of victims of police violence and more than 360 civil society organizations, including Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada, endorsed this letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the implementation … [Read more...]
Thailand: Sufficient Progress Not Made to Warrant Tier 2 Ranking for Thailand in US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2020
Full PDF (ENG) Sufficient progress not made to warrant Tier 2 ranking for Thailand in TIP Report 2020 Seafood Working Group responds to Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 World Day against Human Trafficking July 30, 2020 The U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) … [Read more...]