News releases

IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee Mentorship Toolkit launched to close gender gap in the legal profession

The IBA has launched the Women Lawyers' Committee: Mentorship Toolkit (the Toolkit) with the aim of empowering female legal professionals and addressing the gender representation gap at senior levels.

Released on Sep 23, 2022

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General welcomes IBA help during meeting with IBA Executive Director on expanding support

The International Bar Association’s (IBA) Executive Director, Dr Mark Ellis, met with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, during a recent trip to Ukraine...

Released on Sep 17, 2022

Azerbaijan: IBAHRI joint statement on Elchin Sadykov

The IBAHRI and Media Defence are concerned with the recent criminal procedure initiated against Azeri human rights lawyer Elchin Sadykov and his client, journalist Avaz Zeynalli.

Released on Sep 16, 2022

Ukraine: IBA Anti-Corruption Committee creates taskforce to aid reconstruction efforts

The International Bar Association (IBA) has created a special task force to help Ukraine address, and avoid, the common pitfalls countries make during the reconstruction process following war or natural disasters.

Released on Sep 14, 2022

IBAHRI calls on Israel to release the arbitrarily detained French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hammouri

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) calls for the immediate release from Hadarim Prison of Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender.

Released on Sep 13, 2022

Myanmar: IBAHRI raises concerns about sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi

Given the age and health disorders of Myanmar’s ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the harshness of the recent three-year jail sentence with ‘labour’ or ‘hard labour’ handed to her for purported election fraud in Myanmar’s 2020 polls is of particular concern to the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute...

Released on Sep 11, 2022

IBAHRI calls for creation of a dedicated accountability mechanism for Afghanistan, in joint letter

Excellencies, The signatory organisations call your attention to the deplorable state of human rights in Afghanistan and in particular the absolute lack of accountability for gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses, including crimes under international law, occurring in Afghanistan, especially...

Released on Sep 7, 2022

Kiribati: IBAHRI condemns escalation in disregard for judicial independence as all three Court of Appeal judges are suspended

The suspension of three sitting Court of Appeal judges by the government of the Republic of Kiribati is condemned by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) for escalating the judicial and constitutional crisis facing the Pacific Ocean island. The judges had delivered a ruling blocking the...

Released on Sep 7, 2022

IBA Executive Director arrives in Ukraine for a week of high-level meetings focused on expanding IBA’s support

Today, the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Executive Director, Dr Mark Ellis, arrived in Ukraine for a week of high-level meetings as a show of the IBA’s continued engagement with Ukraine’s legal profession and continuing humanitarian support for those affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Released on Sep 5, 2022

New IBAHRI report on Myanmar raises concerns about right to a fair trial

On 2 September 2022, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) published a report entitled ‘Crackdown on Human Rights Defenders, Opposition, and the Right to a Fair Trial in Myanmar’. The report sheds light on the deteriorating situation in Myanmar since the coup d’état on 1 February 2021.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

IBAHRI calls on UN Member States to prevent and combat enforced disappearances

To mark the United Nations International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Tuesday 30 August 2022, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) calls upon UN Member States to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent, criminalise, investigate...

Released on Aug 30, 2022

IBA condemns detention of Russian lawyer who spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The International Bar Association (IBA) condemns the arrest and pre-trial detention of Russian lawyer Dmitry Talantov, President of the Bar Association of the Republic of Udmurtia, following comments he posted on the social media platform Facebook on 3 April 2022 that criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Talantov...

Released on Aug 23, 2022

Singapore: IBAHRI condemns rise in executions and calls for halt in enforcement

The IBAHRI condemns the increasing number of executions in Singapore, with 10 death row inmates having been executed since 30 March 2022, following a two-year hiatus. Most of the executions were for drug-related offences, which do not meet the threshold of ‘the most serious crimes’ for which death sentences...

Released on Aug 11, 2022

Central African Republic: IBAHRI welcomes abolition of the death penalty

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) commends the Central African Republic (CAR) and President Faustin-Archange Touadéra (pictured) for passing Law 22.011, formally eradicating the death penalty in the country following a de facto moratorium since 1981.

Released on Aug 9, 2022

Uganda: Women underrepresented in senior legal positions in law firms, IBA report reveals

A new IBA Legal Policy & Research Unit report, focused on the remaining barriers to gender parity at senior levels of the legal profession, reveals that law firms in Uganda have the lowest number of women employed at all levels (41 percent), with only 23 per cent of senior roles occupied by women.

Released on Aug 8, 2022

Ukraine: New ILAC report surveys impact of war on justice institutions

The International Bar Association (IBA) has announced the publication of a new report by the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) that documents the impact of the five-month Russia-Ukraine conflict on the Ukrainian justice system. As a founding organisation of ILAC, the IBA contributed to the report’s...

Released on Jul 27, 2022

Myanmar: IBAHRI condemns junta’s execution of four men following unfair trials

The IBAHRI condemns the junta’s execution of four men in Myanmar after being tried, convicted and sentenced to death by closed-door military tribunals. Myanmar state media reported the deaths on 25 July 2022.

Released on Jul 27, 2022

International criminal law is the focus of the second in series of joint IBA and Ukrainian National Bar Association seminars

As further support of Ukraine’s legal profession, the International Bar Association and the Ukrainian National Bar Association, supported by the UNBA’s Higher School of Advocacy, will deliver a legal training session covering the topic of international criminal law.

Released on Jul 26, 2022

IBAHRI calls for worldwide implementation of rule prohibiting admission of torture-tainted evidence

The IBAHRI calls for the exclusionary rule, which prohibits torture-tainted evidence from being admitted in any proceedings, to be strengthened in application and practice in criminal justice systems.

Released on Jul 25, 2022

IBA and Ukrainian National Bar Association partner to deliver a series of training seminars for lawyers

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) have partnered to host a series of online seminars. The first two will focus on defence (21 July) and international criminal law (28 July).

Released on Jul 21, 2022

‘New normal’ post-pandemic working presents fresh challenges for human resources, says new IBA GEI report

Issues connected to the ‘new normal’ way of working following the global Covid-19 outbreak of December 2019 present fresh challenges for human resources (HR) law, according to the tenth annual report by the International Bar Association Global Employment Institute (IBA GEI). Remote working arrangements, the right...

Released on Jul 19, 2022

IBAHRI takeaways from the 50th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council

At the conclusion of the 50th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held from 11 June – 8 July 2022, the IBAHRI outlines contributions, interventions and side events held during the session, and reflects on the key discussions, outcomes and resolutions passed.

Released on Jul 12, 2022

Bullying, harassment and discrimination in the legal profession - IBA launches major reports highlighting regulatory responses

The International Bar Association (IBA) has published two comprehensive reports designed to aid the global legal profession's ongoing efforts to address bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination. Beyond Us Too? Regulatory Responses to Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession and A Global Directory...

Released on Jun 27, 2022

North Korea: IBA report calls for investigation of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and other high-level officials for crimes against humanity

A new report from the International Bar Association’s (IBA) War Crimes Committee and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) has found there is reasonable basis to conclude that Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, and other North Korean officials, should be investigated for crimes against...

Released on Jun 27, 2022

IBAHRI welcomes the abolition of the death penalty in Kazakhstan

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) commends the Republic of Kazakhstan for its ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR-OP2), aiming at the abolition of the death penalty without reservation. With the ICCPR-OP2 entering...

Released on Jun 23, 2022

Myanmar: IBAHRI condemns rise in death sentences and calls for halt in enforcement

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) condemns the rise in death sentences in Myanmar following the February 2021 military coup and a junta announcement that it will execute four people, including two prominent opponents of the regime: former opposition lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw...

Released on Jun 20, 2022

Belarus: IBAHRI condemns extended application of death penalty

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) condemns amendments to the Criminal Code of Belarus that expands the application of the death penalty in Belarus. The legislative amendments follow a series of non-lethal acts of alleged sabotage on the Belarusian railway to obstruct supplies...

Released on Jun 17, 2022

IBAHRI urges UK government to apply Magnitsky Sanctions against Sudan coup leaders

Amid reports of the killing of at least 100 protesters and allegations of sustained human rights violations in Sudan since the 25 October 2021 military coup, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has called for the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Magnitsky...

Released on Jun 14, 2022

IBA and IBAHRI strongly condemn the illegal ‘trial’ and sentencing to death of Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saaudun

The International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) strongly condemn the ‘trial’ and sentencing to death of three men fighting on the Ukrainian side of the Russian-Ukrainian war who were captured by Russian forces.

Released on Jun 13, 2022

IBA launches new project examining the role of lawyers as ethical gatekeepers

The International Bar Association (IBA) has announced that it has embarked on a project to examine the professional role of lawyers as ethical gatekeepers within wider society and to help clarify the ethical responsibilities and obligations of lawyers when providing legal services. The new project is designed to be...

Released on Jun 2, 2022