Hina Jilani announced as the new Co-Chair of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute Council
Wednesday 22 January 2025
Pioneering lawyer and pro-democracy campaigner Hina Jilani (pictured) has taken up the position of Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) Council. Her tenure, effective from 1 January 2025, will run until 31 December 2026. She succeeds Anne Ramberg Dr Jur hc, whose incumbency ended on 31 December 2024.
Ms Jilani commented, ‘It is an honour for me to become the Co-Chair and to join IBAHRI’s efforts to promote and protect human rights and the rule of law. I share IBAHRI’s vision and recognise the critical role that this institution is playing globally in improving access to justice for all.’
A photo can be downloaded from here. Credit as ‘Source: Hina Jilani’
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Ms Jilani has dedicated her career to the protection and promotion of human rights, particularly those of women, children, minorities and prisoners – including those jailed for political reasons. She has conducted many landmark cases setting new standards for human rights in Pakistan.
Ms Jilani remains an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, having been appointed in 1992. She is also a member of the Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 working for peace, justice and human rights, and is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of her life-long contributions in these areas, including the Millennium Peace Prize for Women in 2001.
IBAHRI Co-Chair and former President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Mark Stephens CBE, commented: ‘I'm thrilled to welcome Hina Jilani, a global icon of human rights who brings to the IBAHRI in her new role as my Co-Chair an unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law and promoting universal human rights in order to make the world a better place. It is an honour to be working alongside such an esteemed lawyer and a passionate advocate for fundamental human rights.’
IBAHRI Director Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC added: ‘It is an enormous pleasure and privilege to welcome Hina Jilani to the role of Co-Chair of the IBAHRI. Hina Jilani is a renowned and respected lawyer and human rights activist. The IBAHRI has worked closely with Hina in her role as a member of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, for which the IBAHRI serves as Secretariat. We have already benefited greatly from Hina’s wisdom and experience, and we look forward to working ever closer over the next few years.’
Ms Jilani established Pakistan’s first all-female law firm in 1980 and in the same year co-founded the Women’s Action Forum – a pressure group set up to campaign for women’s rights and challenge Pakistan’s discriminatory laws. Despite persecution, beatings and arrests because of their activism, the group’s members fought tirelessly for democracy in Pakistan. Ms Jilani was also among the founders of Dastak, a shelter providing free legal counsel and support to victims of gender-based violence. Her work in Pakistan has made her a target of hostile propaganda, arrests, threats and intimidation. In 1986, she established Pakistan’s first legal aid centre.
Ms Jilani has also served in several high-profile positions including as:
In the current decade, Ms Jilani was appointed to the International Commission of Inquiry on Systemic Racist Police Violence Against People of African Descent in the United States in 2020, after George Floyd was killed by a police officer while being arrested in the United States.
ENDS
Contact: IBAHRI@int-bar.org
Notes to the reader
- Related items:
- The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), established in 1995 under Founding Honorary President Nelson Mandela, is an autonomous entity working to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.
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Find the IBAHRI on social media here:
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The High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom is the independent advisory body of the Media Freedom Coalition. The High Level Panel was established in July 2019 at the request of the Coalition’s inaugural Co-Chairs, Canada and the United Kingdom, and is composed of leading experts in the field of international law. The High Level Panel’s Secretariat is the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, providing it with operational, technical and legal assistance.
- The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, with the aim of protecting and promoting the rule of law globally, the IBA was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
- Find the IBA on social media here:
Website page link for this news release:
Short link: tinyurl.com/4ds2xs98
Full link: www.ibanet.org/Hina-Jilani-announced-as-the-new-Co-Chair-of-the-IBA-Human-Rights-Institute-Council