Strategic litigation

Strategic litigation

ISHR's legal team is made up of two passionate human rights lawyers. Our strategic litigation at international, regional and national levels aims at ensuring human rights defenders have the freedom to effectively and safely protect and promote human rights; that perpetrators are held accountable and victims are provided with adequate remedies when human rights violations occur. With pro bono support of leading international law firms, we file and manage cases and amicus briefs with international, regional and national courts and bodies. We also conduct advocacy to strengthen international systems considering these cases, so they are more effective, transparent and accessible.

Our strategic advocacy and interventions pursue several objectives: 

  • at the international level: strengthen the recognition of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders and other international human rights instruments as reaffirming binding international law or as relevant to the interpretation and application of binding obligations as they apply to defenders. 
  • at the regional and national levels: ensure that national and regional instruments are interpreted, applied and developed, in conformity with the Declaration on human rights defenders; and ensure that the Declaration is judicially incorporated into regional and national laws.