Annual Jurists Conference, 20–24 November 2018, Cape Town, South Africa

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From 20–24 November 2018, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) collaborated with the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, International Commission of Jurists, the International Development and Legal Organization, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) to hold the Annual Jurists Conference.

The conference, which took place at The Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, took the form of a three-day consultative forum. Participants were drawn from members of the Bench and the Bar in the region, civil society actors, state agencies and independent experts. This collaboration followed an event, organised by the IBAHRI on the margins of the May 2018 session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights focusing on The role of the legal profession to protect human rights in the context of shrinking and democratic space in Africa. The recommendations arising from that event were shared with the African Commission.

The event, which drew attention to the state of judicial independence in Africa, was an opportunity for judges and lawyers to explore effective responses to challenges faced by threats to the judiciary and the wider legal profession. Discussions also considered the adequacy of regional and international human standards to respond to the challenges faced by lawyers and judicial officers across Africa.

Please click here for the conference programme.

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