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The Peace Palace, seat of the International Court of Justice, the Hague, Netherlands.

Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice

Blog Post
25 July 2025 | This week, the ICJ issued its long-awaited advisory opinion on the obligations of States under international law in the context of climate change, in a major victory for climate activists and human rights defenders around the world.
Black and white portrait of Azimjan Askarov, Kyrgyz human rights defender and artist, wearing a jacket and a collared shirt. He is seated indoors, looking toward the camera with a calm, gentle expression.

Remembering Azimjan Askarov – Five years on

Blog Post
25 July 2025 | Today marks five years since the death of Azimjan Askarov, a courageous human rights defender from Kyrgyzstan who died in custody after spending a decade behind bars. Five years on, I remain deeply disheartened by reports that the circumstances surrounding his death have still not been effectively and impartially investigated.

Advisory Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Blog Post
11 July 2025 | The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a groundbreaking advisory opinion on State obligations under regional human rights law in the context of the climate crisis. Here are my reflections on the significance of the opinion for human rights defenders.
European flags outside the EU Commission building in Brussels

EU Commission’s Omnibus Proposal: An attempt to undermine progress on sustainable business

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3 March 2025 | The EU Commission published a proposal for a package of reforms to the EU legal framework on corporate sustainability, which stands to roll back years of advances on corporate accountability and respect for human rights.
European flags outside the EU Commission building in Brussels

Reform of EU law on people smuggling: serious issues for HRDs arising from the Council’s position

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19 February 2025 | In its position on the proposed reform of the EU’s legal framework on people smuggling, the Council of the European Union risks compounding concerns about the impact of legislation in the area on people exercising the right to defend human rights.
An illustration showing three people holding signs with faceless portraits of missing individuals. The text on the image reads 'International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.' The first person on the left, wearing an orange scarf, holds two signs with the text '¿Dónde Están?' (Spanish for 'Where Are They?'). The person in the centre wears an orange headscarf and holds a sign with a faceless portrait. The person on the right wears glasses and carries a sign with the word 'Missing' and another faceless portrait. The background is a gradient of light blue to darker blue.

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2024

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30 August 2024 | Today, which marks the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, I am thinking of all the human rights defenders who have been subjected to this most cruel and callous crime in retaliation for their work.
An illustration featuring a group of diverse people standing at the base of a large book, which is held upright by columns resembling those of a courthouse. The text on the image reads 'Introducing the Declaration+25' and '#Right2defend RIGHTS' against a split orange and grey background.

Welcoming the Declaration+25

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16 July 2024 | Last month, a number of human rights organisations launched Declaration+25, a supplement to the HRD Declaration, designed to ensure better protection for all those around the world who defend human rights.
European flags outside the EU Commission building in Brussels

Updates to the EU Visa Code Handbook: encouraging news for human rights defenders

Blog Post
2 July 2024 | In June 2024, the EU Commission issued an update to the EU Visa Code Handbook. The update, which is to be applied immediately, could go some way to addressing the long-standing discord between the EU’s acknowledgement of the risks for human rights defenders around the world and its visa policy as it impacts upon them.
The image shows a blue boat where Iuventa is written in white letters. Many people are standing on the boat and clinging to its railing.

On the Iuventa Trial: the criminalisation of solidarity

Blog Post
7 March 2024 | Last week, a member of my team travelled to Trapani to observe the concluding arguments in the pre-trial proceedings against the Iuventa search and rescue crew.
European flags outside the EU Commission building in Brussels

Position Paper: on the EU Commission’s proposed Directive to update the EU legal framework on people smuggling

Blog Post
February 2024 | I am issuing the following position paper in response to the EU Commission’s proposed Directive to update the Facilitators Package, with specific recommendations to improve the environment for human rights defenders in the EU.
European flags outside the EU Commission building in Brussels

Position Paper: concerning EU visas as a protection tool for human rights defenders

Blog Post
December 2023 | I am issuing the following position paper on EU visas as a protection tool for human rights defenders, including recommendations on what could be done in the short and medium term to remedy the current disconnect between the EU’s external human rights policy and its visa framework.
The top of the image features the dates "May 2020 - May 2023" on a purple and orange gradient background. Below is a black and white photo of Mary Lawlor, accompanied by the text "In her first mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor..." on a white background. The image is meant to lead to the statistics compiled in the related blog piece.

Reflections on my first term as mandate holder – August 2023

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15 August 2023 | Looking back on my first term as Special Rapporteur, I’m sharing an overview of my work between May 2020 and May 2023.
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