A message from

Hina Jilani

Pioneering lawyer and pro-democracy campaigner

Dear Friends,

This week we launched a new area of work on Access to Justice. Mary Robinson and I joined leading actors on justice reform in The Hague to share our vision for helping the 5 billion people in the world unable to access justice. Find out more on our new Access to Justice webpage.

We were delighted to announce three new Elders in January, and are excited to see how their experience and expertise will add immeasurable value to our work pursuing peace, justice and human rights for all.

Our Chair Mary Robinson gave an inspiring address at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the interconnected nature of human rights and the SDGs. She called on human rights to be put at the heart of all efforts towards the Global Goals.

Gro Harlem Brundtland and Lakhdar Brahimi both gave insightful interventions at the Sciences Po Youth and Leaders Summit, on the topic of technology as a disruptive force. The summit was dedicated to our late Chair Kofi Annan and the full event can be watched here.

Finally, we were all shocked and saddened by the increasing violence in Zimbabwe. We urge a peaceful resolution to this ongoing crisis through inclusive dialogue and emphasised in our statement that repression and violence would further erode trust in state authorities and imperil Zimbabwe’s much-needed transition.

Hina Jilani