A human rights lawyer is suppose to provide legal counsel to victims of human rights violations, regardless of membership in a professional association. They carry out a professional defence of human rights and their function deserves protection as the right to legal assistance is a key principle of the right to a fair trial.
There have been instances of kids and women being raped, molested and defiled but unluckily, they have nobody to get them out of that ‘permanent and devilish’ act. This is where the human right attorney comes in here to save the circumstance. These lawyers assume a critical role in maintaining human rights.
Their autonomy and protection is fundamental. There are huge number of human rights casualties around the globe who have not been rewarded genuinely dependent on obstructions from certain unmistakable individuals or institutions. In certain cases, the victims have no SAY because of poverty or other related issues.
The truth of the matter is, to ensure reasonable preliminary rights, big people in the public arena or even institutions like governments must abstain from meddling with the privileges of legal counselors to represent their preferred clients and to deal with the issues they pick. They must ensure that human rights legal advisors have a similar degree of access and plausibility to impart in certainty with their clients just like other legal advisors.
There was a related story of such human rights issue that occurred in Ghana which I might want to share with you (my readers). In 2017, a youthful freak man attacked, raped and killed a ten (10) year old defenseless girl and quickly went into hiding in another location. The helpless guardians of the dead casualty had nothing left to do than to report to the police to rapidly do their investigation and hunt for the offender.
Lamentably, the police were hesitant for peculiar reasons. The reality of the situation was that, the guilty party was a long relative to a certain political personality, therefore the case was left hanging. The guardians continued alarming the police they understand the offender was at a particular area, but it was as if police was new to the issue.
With the assistance of a human rights attorney, the case is as yet pending. The lawyer has promised to uncover everything about the case, regardless of what the police will do. There are thousand and one genuine human rights cases of such acts around the world that will later on be discussed in our subsequent contents.
Away from that, the independence of professional organisations of lawyers must be respected, and disbarment must only be an administrative measure aimed at ensuring professional and ethical standards of the profession, not a punishment dispensed by the government. Individuals and institutions must refrain from interfering with the operation of professional organisations of lawyers.
Human rights Lawyers’ position are consistently in danger because of their position as litigants to essential rights and opportunities that all people ought to be ensured, for example, the privilege to life and freedom, opportunity of thought and articulation, and correspondence under the watchful eye of the law.
It is the prerogative of leaders in all sectors of society to acknowledge publicly the important and legitimate role of human rights lawyers in the promotion of human rights, democracy and rule of law, and avoid stigmatisation of human rights lawyers. In some countries, these lawyers and judges are highly protected due to the greater risk in their dual role: as legal professionals and as human rights defenders.
As of late, pressure has intensified on legal advisors dealing with human rights or representing people asserting their privileges were disregarded. This trend, which is observed particularly in many parts of the world, has grave consequences, with human rights lawyers unable to work safely and efficiently. And their clients not prevented from exercising their right to legal defence and protection. It threatens the well being of societies as a whole and the functioning of cities under the rule of law.
Today, there is twofold constraint: governments restrict the enjoyment of human rights for all people, and those defending human rights fear more and more severe retaliation. Human rights defenders are also victims of laws criminalising their work. Governments also use sophisticated methods to harass, intimidate and punish lawyers defending those whose rights were violated.
Human rights legal advisors are among the defenders that are more in danger, alongside women human rights defenders, minority rights defenders, defenders from the periphery, and human rights activists working on these issues.
