{"id":26126,"date":"2026-06-30T14:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/assemblee-generale-2026-10-ans-de-mobilisation-pour-les-avocat-es-en-danger\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:24:50","slug":"2026-general-assembly-10-years-of-campaigning-for-lawyers-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/2026-general-assembly-10-years-of-campaigning-for-lawyers-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 General Assembly: 10 years of campaigning for lawyers at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year, the OIAD gathered its members in Rome to share their views on the 2025\u20132026 period and the Observatory\u2019s future prospects after 10 years of activity. Once again, the OIAD had the privilege of welcoming fellow lawyerq to share moving testimonies at the Assembly, both in person and online.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with the previous General Assembly, the event enabled a wide audience to follow the discussions on the OIAD\u2019s day-to-day initiatives and proposals for action for the coming presidency.<\/p>\n

The first closed session resulted in the unanimous approval of the activity<\/a> and financial reports for the previous period.<\/p>\n

Two years after the election of the Rouen and Bologna Bar Associations to the Paris General Assembly, the OIAD welcomed the Nice Bar Association, represented by Adrien Verrier, to its Board, and renewed the term of office of Antonio Fraticelli, representative of the Bologna Bar Association.<\/p>\n

Finally, after setting out its strategic priorities for the 2026\u20132027 period<\/a>, the Conseil National des Barreaux (French National Bar Council \u2013 CNB), represented by Julie Couturier, took over the presidency of the OIAD, following a year of administration by the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (CNF).<\/p>\n

The open session gave the floor to Ivania Cruz, Shahanur Islam and Fran\u00e7ois Munguiko (lawyers from El Salvador, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo), who gave moving testimonies on the situation of lawyers in their respective countries, as well as on their personal circumstances, marked by exile and being prevented from practising their profession.<\/p>\n

The 4th<\/sup> edition of the OIAD Human Rights Award, presented by the President of the Istanbul Bar Association, Ibrahim \u00d6zden Kabo\u011flu, honoured Nicaraguan lawyer and HRD Julio Montenegro, for his exceptional and courageous commitment to the defence of human rights in one of the most repressive political contexts in the Americas. The OIAD Award was awarded jointly <\/em>to French lawyer and president of D\u00e9fense Sans Fronti\u00e8res \u2013 Avocats Solidaires Ghislaine S\u00e8ze, for her tireless work in defence of lawyers, particularly through the judicial observation missions she coordinates.<\/p>\n

In the afternoon, members got to discuss the survey conducted by the OIAD amongst its members to identify areas for improvement and assess the Observatory\u2019s priorities for the coming years.<\/p>\n

The day concluded with a presentation of the findings and recommendations from the report \u201cClimate of Fear: The Legal Profession and Judicial Independence at Risk\u201d, produced by the International Mission of Lawyers organised by the OIAD in Guatemala in October 2025. \u00c1gueda Teja, C\u00e9sar Sivo and Gonzalo S\u00e1enz, members of the mission, outlined the report\u2019s main findings, which highlight a climate of harassment, criminalisation and repression targeting lawyers, judges and prosecutors involved in the fight against corruption and the defence of human rights. The speakers warned of the manipulation of the criminal justice system, the abusive use of pre-trial detention and stigmatisation campaigns that undermine the independent practice of the legal profession and the independence of the judiciary.<\/p>\n

Ten years after its establishment, the Observatory continues its unwavering commitment to supporting lawyers at risk and all those who defend the rule of law around the world. The discussions, testimonies and reflections that characterised the day served as a reminder of the importance of collective, sustained and international action in the face of growing attacks on the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.<\/p>\n

The OIAD extends its sincere thanks to all its members, speakers and partners for their participation and trust. Together we will continue to take action to ensure that lawyers can carry out their duties freely, in complete independence and without fear of reprisals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, the OIAD gathered its members in Rome to share their views on the 2025\u20132026 period and the Observatory\u2019s future prospects after 10 years of activity. Once again, the OIAD had the privilege of welcoming fellow lawyerq to share moving testimonies at the Assembly, both in person and online. As with the previous General […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26126"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26134,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26126\/revisions\/26134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}