Major Defender Cases

Crackdown in Cuba In the last weeks of March 2003, the Cuban government sentenced nearly 80 human rights defenders, independent journalists, economists and librarians to up to 28 years in prison in the harshest crackdown on civil society seen on the island in years. The real reason for their imprisonment appears to be their non-violent activism for human rights and democracy. More»
Patrick Finucane On February 12, 1989, Patrick Finucane was gunned down in front of his family at their home. Since the killing, the Lawyers Committee has conducted a series of missions to Northern Ireland. We believe that only a full, independent public inquiry can unearth the complete scope of security force involvement in the murder. More»
Myrna Mack Chang Anthropologist Myrna Mack, who was stalked and murdered in 1990 by a Guatemalan military death squad in retaliation for her exposure of rights violations committed during the civil war. More»
Crisis in Zimbabwe A major human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe has developed as the ruling party seeks to suppress all forms of political opposition. Human rights defenders such as lawyers, judges, journalists, trade union activists and civil society groups are among those targeted daily for attack and persecution. More»
Defenders in the New Global Security Environment Under the broad brush of state security and anti-terrorism measures, human rights defenders are among those who have fallen victim to new or intensified restrictions on their basic rights since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The Lawyers Committee is working with leading human rights organizations in many countries on a comparative study of the impact of the new global security environment on human rights defenders in approximately 30 countries, and will publish this as a written report. More»

					UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders: LCHR Analysis UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders The Neglected Right: Freedom of Association in International Human Rights Law What is a Fair Trial? A basic guide to legal standards and practice
Bangladesh China Colombia Cuba Democratic Republic of Congo Egypt Ethiopia Guatemala Haiti India Israel/Palestinian Territories Jordan	Kuwait Malaysia Mexico Middle East Namibia Northern Ireland Peru Singapore South Korea Tunisia Turkey Zimbabwe