News releases
IBAHRI at the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council: key insights
A high-level analysis of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC60), which concluded last week in Geneva, has provided key insights into emerging global human rights priorities and challenges. The below review highlights significant developments in areas of focus…
Released on Oct 15, 2025
World Day against the Death Penalty 2025: IBAHRI calls for universal abolition
To mark the 24th World Day against the Death Penalty on Friday 10 October 2025, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) calls for universal abolition of the death penalty and ratification of…
Released on Oct 10, 2025
Nominations are open for the 2025 IBA Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award
The IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee is receiving nominations for the 2025 IBA Outstanding International Woman Lawyer Award.
Released on Oct 9, 2025
IBAHRI joint statement at UN Human Rights Council calling for further support for Ukraine
The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has issued a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council's 60th session calling for States to enhance support for Ukraine’s justice reform and accountability efforts…
Released on Oct 2, 2025
Egypt: IBAHRI welcomes release of British Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) welcomes news that British Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been pardoned and released by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after his latest arbitrary detention of almost six years.
Released on Oct 2, 2025
Georgia: IBAHRI joint statement on freezing of NGO accounts and the impact on legal aid
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has issued a joint statement of concern about the recent freezing of bank accounts belonging to several civil society organisations in Georgia as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged 'sabotage' by the authorities.
Released on Oct 1, 2025
Tajikistan: IBAHRI joint statement of concern for lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has issued a joint letter calling for the immediate release of Tajik lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov, who is serving a 23-year prison sentence for his work representing political opposition leaders.
Released on Sep 29, 2025
Committing to justice for Ukraine: IBA and partners convene in The Hague to discuss the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression
On 29 September 2025, leading legal and diplomatic experts will gather in The Hague to discuss the establishment and operationalisation of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine (the Special Tribunal).
Released on Sep 23, 2025
Ukraine: Young legal minds engage with global justice leaders at IBA co-sponsored Criminal Justice Summer School
This summer, a group of promising young legal minds were brought together in Kyiv, Ukraine for an intensive and inspiring programme at the 2025 Criminal Justice Summer School (the Summer School) – a five-day syllabus designed to cultivate the next generation of justice professionals.
Released on Sep 16, 2025
IBAHRI joint letter in support of the renewal of the Special Rapporteur on Russia at UN Human Rights Council
The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has issued a joint letter in support of the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation during the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council…
Released on Sep 15, 2025
IBAHRI joint statement of concern over incident involving lawyer Zola Ferreira Bambi in Angola
The IBAHRI has issued a joint statement of concern regarding Angolan human rights lawyer Zola Ferreira Bambi, following the discovery of a bullet lodged in the windshield of his vehicle. The circumstances surrounding the case remain unclear, raising concerns about the protection of lawyers…
Released on Sep 11, 2025
New report from the IBA Communications Law Committee explores the ‘fair share’ debate in internet infrastructure funding
A new comprehensive report from the International Bar Association (IBA) Communications Law Committee examines the ongoing global debate over who should bear the cost of internet infrastructure, expansion and maintenance. It is a controversial issue revolving around whether…
Released on Sep 10, 2025
Türkiye: Proceedings against Istanbul Bar Association board a ‘direct assault’ on independence of legal profession
Criminal and civil proceedings against the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association are incompatible with the Republic of Türkiye’s international human rights obligations and represent a direct assault on the independence of the legal profession, warned the IBAHRI…
Released on Sep 10, 2025
Qatar: IBAHRI Director issues letter calling for release of Remy Rowhani
In a joint letter, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), together with other legal experts, has called for the immediate release of prominent Qatari Baha’i citizen Remy Rowhani, and for the conviction to be quashed.
Released on Sep 8, 2025
IBAHRI highlights gender apartheid regime in Afghanistan after four years under Taliban
Four years have passed since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, with the milestone reached on 15 August 2025. As Afghan women and girls face systematic rights violations and a worsening humanitarian crisis, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) underscores…
Released on Aug 29, 2025
President Zelenskyy honours IBAHRI Director Baroness Helena Kennedy KC with the Order of Merit of Ukraine
The IBAHRI has announced that its Director, Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC, eminent British barrister, life peer and member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords, has been awarded the Order of Merit of Ukraine of the III degree...
Released on Aug 27, 2025
IBA condemns the imposition of additional US sanctions against International Criminal Court judges and officials
The International Bar Association (IBA) condemns the imposition of additional sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC or ‘the Court’) judges and officials by the United States administration as an attack against the global rule of law and the independence of judges…
Released on Aug 21, 2025
IBA-founded eyeWitness to Atrocities welcomes Professor Leila Nadya Sadat to Board of Trustees
The International Bar Association-founded eyeWitness to Atrocities (eyeWitness), dedicated to documenting and promoting accountability for atrocity crimes, has announced the appointment of Professor Leila Nadya Sadat to its Board of Trustees (Board).
Released on Aug 19, 2025
IBAHRI to co-host UK Parliament roundtable on justice and accountability in Syria
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the University of Lancaster’s Sectarianism, Proxies and De-sectarianisation (SEPAD) project and the Foreign Policy Centre will host a roundtable on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic on Tuesday 9 September 2025…
Released on Aug 15, 2025
IBAHRI joint statement on the arbitrary detention of lawyers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has signed a joint statement expressing deep concern for the arbitrary detention of Congolese lawyers Guillaume Muyembe, Patrick Katebe and Médard Palankoy. For weeks, the lawyers were detained incommunicado without any legal basis.
Released on Aug 12, 2025
Vietnam: IBAHRI welcomes reduction in scope of death penalty and calls for full abolition
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has welcomed amendments to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s Criminal Code which, as of 1 July 2025, abolished the death penalty for eight offences. On 25 June 2025, Vietnam’s National Assembly adopted legislation to reduce…
Released on Aug 8, 2025
IBAHRI joint letter to end the forced starvation and targeted killing of journalists in Gaza
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has issued a joint letter to governments, international organisations, media institutions and civil society demanding an end to the forced starvation and targeting of journalists in Gaza by Israel…
Released on Aug 7, 2025
New insight report: Global war, global trade: an IBA Global Employment Institute perspective
A summary of the challenges posed to global trade, workforces and employee wellbeing by ongoing conflicts and political tensions around the world has been published by the IBA Global Employment Institute.
Released on Aug 4, 2025
The IBAHRI calls for justice and support for Yazidi community on 11th anniversary of genocide
Sunday 3 August 2025 marks the 11th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. Genocide is defined as the prohibited acts committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. On this day in 2014…
Released on Aug 3, 2025
As a summer of horrors unfolds in Gaza, IBAHRI asks the international community: if not now, when will it be time to act?
Death, starvation, displacement and destruction continue to engulf Gaza as the summer of long horrors unfolds. The announced ten-hour ‘tactical pauses’ from Israeli military operations in certain parts of the Strip are wholly inadequate to address the scale of the crisis…
Released on Aug 1, 2025
IBAHRI launches Black Robes, Red Targets: a report and film spotlighting extrajudicial killings of legal professionals in the Philippines
A disturbing pattern of extrajudicial killings, harassment and systematic human rights violations targeting legal professionals in the Philippines has been revealed in a new report, Black Robes, Red Targets (the Report), published by the Caravana Filipina – an international fact-finding mission….
Released on Jul 29, 2025
IBA working group launches Phase 2 of AI Impact Survey
With the aim of gathering insights from law professionals worldwide on how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the legal sector, the International Bar Association (IBA) Section on Public and Professional Interest (SPPI) Artificial Intelligence Working Group (‘the Working Group’) has launched…
Released on Jul 28, 2025
Inaugural UN International Day for Judicial Well-being marked by the IBA Professional Wellbeing Commission
To mark the first United Nations International Day for Judicial Well-being, the IBA Professional Wellbeing Commission has emphasised the significance of judicial wellbeing as a cornerstone of justice, judicial integrity and the rule of law globally.
Released on Jul 25, 2025
Join the IBA co-sponsored Free Criminal Justice Summer School in Kyiv
The International Bar Association (IBA) – the global voice of the legal profession – is co sponsoring the Criminal Justice Summer School for legal students in Ukraine with Just Group – a Ukrainian non government organisation focused on human rights. The Summer School will be FREE to participants.
Released on Jul 24, 2025
IBAHRI joint statement on strong push back against US sanctions on the International Criminal Court at UN Human Rights Council
The IBAHRI has issued a joint statement with Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists on the strong pushback against US sanctions on the International Criminal Court at the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council...
Released on Jul 21, 2025