UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers’ support to Afghan judges

News of the IAJ

Besides the IAJ’s work to support Afghan judges, another relevant contribution came from the office of the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

The first item is a recent statement on the situation for lawyers and judges from Afghanistan, jointly issued by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan:
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/ijudiciary/statements/2023-01-17/202301-stm-sr-ijl-sr-afghanistan-day-endangered-lawyer.pdf.

The Rapporteurs also published an opinion piece calling on the international community to do more to address the situation:
https://www.justsecurity.org/84893/afghan-lawyers-on-rule-of-laws-frontlines-need-urgent-international-support/.

The opinion piece recognizes the extremely important work done by entities such as IAJ to provide evacuation and support services, and calls on States to provide safe passage and protection to actors involved with the legal system who are at risk of reprisals.

International Association of Judges
Union Internationale des Magistrats
Palazzo di Giustizia
Piazza Cavour – 00193 – Roma, Italy
tel. +39 06 6883 2213 – fax. +39 06 687 1195