The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD) is organising a workshop on security and psychological risks for Spanish-speaking human rights lawyers. The training session will take place on 13 March 2025, from 16:00 to 19:30 (CET) in Madrid, in the assembly room of the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (Paseo de Recoletos 13, Madrid), and will be broadcast live, with the option of connecting via zoom. This OIAD initiative has been created as a response to an identified need and one that is increasingly requested by colleagues in high-risk situations. The workshop will be led by Arancha García del Soto[1], a social psychologist and doctor of sociology, who has extensive experience as a trainer in this field. The objectives of the course are as follows: Training in “do no harm” interview methodology Minimise the negative psychological impact on the victims they represent; Strengthen the ability to obtain relevant information from those affected, by learning more about the realities and reactions caused by the impact of violence. Strengthening individual and collective self-care Sharing tools for emotional self-management, teamwork and stress management under extreme pressure; Strengthening the ability of lawyers and their teams to manage critical situations by promoting emotional […]

The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD) expresses its deep concern about recent events in the electoral process of the Guatemalan Bar Association (CANG). The second round of elections to the CANG Bar Council, the highest institutional representation of the Guatemalan legal profession, will take place on 14 February. This is a particularly important process, as it will determine the composition of the nomination committees responsible for electing the Attorney General of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Court and the Constitutional Court, whose appointments will coincide in 2026. However, this electoral process has been marred by a series of disinformation and defamation campaigns against certain candidates, as well as the arrest of lawyer Eduardo Masaya, who is taking part in the joint Planilla 10 candidacy.   The Observatory recalls that the independence of the legal profession is one of the main indicators of democratic health and the consolidation of the rule of law, in compliance with the provisions of the United Nations Principles on the Role of Lawyers. The Observatory urges the Electoral Tribunal of the Guatemalan Bar Association to ensure the transparency, impartiality and legality of the electoral process, guaranteeing that it takes […]

This year, the International Day for Lawyers in Danger focused attention on the reality of lawyers in Belarus. Independent lawyers in this authoritarian regime constantly put themselves at risk to defend justice and the rule of law. On 24 January 2025, several bar associations, associations and human rights defenders around the world joined forces to denounce Belarus’ attacks on its lawyers. These professionals, who are the guardians of defence and justice, have become direct targets of a system that seeks to silence all opposition. The legal profession in Belarus: a tale of persecution and exile Since the controversial elections of 2020, repression in Belarus has reached a new level, particularly targeting lawyers specialising in the defence of human rights. From arbitrary disbarments to harassment, criminal charges and even imprisonment, the regime of Alexander Lukashenko has turned the practice of the profession into an act of bravery. Six lawyers are currently detained, some incommunicado, while 139 have been deprived of their right to practice. Some have been forced to leave the country, abandoning not only their careers but also their personal safety, to escape reprisals. In an interview with Laurence Roques, Treasurer of the OIAD and Vice-President of the CNB’s International […]

[Photo: Flickr / Nathan Guy (2008)] Last September 9 – 11, 2024, the Committee of Experts at the Council of Europe in charge of drafting the Convention for the Protection of Lawyers met for the last time in Strasbourg. On that occasion, the Committee considered the requests for additions and amendments made by the stakeholders surveyed. This was the ninth and final meeting in a series of meetings that began in 2018. The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger has actively taken part in all meetings through its representatives. The text that was finally approved by the Committee was then brought to the attention of the European Committee for Legal Cooperation (CDCJ), which met November 19-21, 2024, in its plenary session and approved both the draft Convention and the draft Explanatory report. The two documents were then forwarded to the Committee of Ministers to be submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for consensus. The goal is to have the Convention adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2025, a Committee that is composed of ministers representing the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, during the Luxembourg Presidency. It will then be necessary to strive […]

The OIAD, together with 56 other organisations from the international legal and human rights community, sign a joint statement in support of the Istanbul Bar Association: “The international legal and human rights community is deeply concerned by prosecuting authorities’ recent criminal investigation and lawsuit against the Istanbul Bar Association, particularly its President, İbrahim Kaboğlu, and the executive board. These actions stem from a statement issued by the Bar Association on 21 December 2024, drawing attention to the deaths of journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, killed on 19 December 2024 in northern Syria while monitoring developments in the region. The statement highlighted that the targeting of journalists in conflict zones constitutes a violation of International Humanitarian Law and called for an effective investigation into the incident.  In response, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal investigation against the Bar’s leadership, citing allegations of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation” and “publicly disseminating misleading information.” On 14 January 2025, the Prosecutor’s Office escalated its actions by filing a lawsuit seeking the dismissal of the Bar Association’s president and executive board under Article 77(5) of the Turkish Attorneyship Law. The grounds for the lawsuit allege that the Bar’s statement exceeded […]