The Asian Human Rights Commission and its sister-organisation have nominated prominent Pakistani lawyer and human rights defender, Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, for the prestigious 2008 United Nations Human Rights Prize.
Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan is the President of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association as well as being a leader in the ongoing Lawyers’ Movement in the country. He is also currently acting as defence counsel for the Chief Justice of Pakistan in the fight to re-instate the country’s legitimate judiciary. As with many prominent lawyers and judges in the movement, Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan was detained on November 3, 2007. He remained detained for 4 months, as the result of his actions in favour of human rights, before being released on March 3, 2008.
Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan is widely viewed as one of the leading intellectuals and human rights defenders in Asia, notably for his present leadership role in the country’s struggle for the establishment of an independent judiciary, upon which all hopes for the enjoyment of human rights in the country are currently resting. In awarding the prize to Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, the UN would be sending a message of support to all those who continue to struggle for justice and human rights through peaceful, legitimate means in Pakistan and around the world.
Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan’s nomination is supported by Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Mr. Iftikhar Choudhry, as well as Ms. Hina Jilani, the former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on the situation of Human Rights Defenders (please click on the links to download their supporting letters). In addition, the nomination is also supported by the following prominent NGOs: Aim for Human Rights (Netherlands); IKV Pax Christi (Netherlands); the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association (Canada); Justice and Peace Netherlands; Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation (Netherlands); Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada; and is endorsed by the US National Lawyers Guild.
The UN Human Rights Prize
The prize is awarded to individuals or organizations once every five years for “outstanding achievements in the field of human rights.” It was first awarded in 1968, on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Winners of the prize include Nelson Mandela and former United States President Jimmy Carter. Eleanor Roosevelt, who played a key role in creating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King were both honoured posthumously, as was former High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello, who received the award four months after he was killed along with 21 others in the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad.
The 2008 Prize will be awarded at an event at the UN Headquarters in New York on 10 December 2008, Human Rights Day, which is also the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan and the Lawyers’ Movement
Pakistan is at a crucial juncture at present. The country has been plagued by grave human rights violations, including widespread torture and extra-judicial killings, as well as forced disappearances estimated at numbering in the thousands since 2001, making it one of the most serious human rights violators in Asia. Amidst this, the Lawyers’ Movement has been struggling for justice and the re-instatement of the ousted members of country’s judiciary. The movement started on March 09, 2007, following then-President Pervez Musharraf having suspended Chief Justice Choudhry from office. This prompted mass demonstrations during which hundreds of lawyers were arrested, with many being beaten and even tortured while in detention. Further unrest saw lawyers being killed by political supporters of President Musharraf. 40 persons were killed in Karachi on May 12, 2007, upon the Chief Justices arrival there, and 17 persons were killed in a bomb blast at a demonstration in Islamabad on July 17, 2007.
With Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan acting as lawyer for the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court finally reinstated him on July 20, 2007. Unsatisfied with this outcome, President Musharraf resumed his attacks on the increasingly independent judiciary by imposing a state of emergency, suspending fundamental human rights, and arbitrarily arresting sixty leading judges, including the Chief Justice and Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, on November 3, 2007. Amongst other things, the judiciary was presenting a growing threat to the Musharraf government and the Army, as it was beginning to look into gross human rights violations, such as disappearances, that were allegedly being perpetrated in the country. Since this time, the Lawyers’Movement has been holding demonstrations and has faced harsh repression from the authorities, including arrests and detentions, beatings, torture, and arson attacks on offices, including one such attack in Karachi in April 2008, in which six lawyers were burned alive.
It is hoped that developments in Pakistan in recent days will lead to the removal of the obstacles that have been preventing the rapid restoration of the country’s legitimate judiciary. Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan has been playing a crucial leadership role in this movement that has been the catalyst for change in the country and will hopefully lead to the establishment of the rule of law and the respect for human rights in Pakistan in the coming months and years. It is for his work throughout his career and this important contribution that the afore-mentioned individuals and organizations are supporting his nomination for the UN Human Rights Prize.
Please click to download the supporting letters from the following persons:
Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Mr. Iftikhar Choudhry
Ms. Hina Jilani
Aim for Human Rights (Netherlands)
IKV Pax Christi (Netherlands)
The International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association (Canada)
Justice and Peace Netherlands
Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation (Netherlands)
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
For more information, please contact:
Baseer Naweed, AHRC: baseer.naweed@ahrc.asia, Tel: + 852 2698-6339, extension 113;
Michael Anthony, ALRC: michael.anthony@ahrc.asia
