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	Lawyers need to be protected not harassed by UN Office for Human Rights China   16 February 2016   China’s clampdown on lawyers and activists draws concern of UN human rights chief   The top United Nations human rights official announced today he has sought clarifications from the Chinese authorities about the recent arrests of lawyers, and intimidation of Government critics and workers of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), describing these incidents as “a very worrying pattern” that has serious implications for the activities of civil society there.   “Civil society actors, from lawyers and journalists to NGO workers, have the right to carry out their work, and it is the States’ duty to support and protect them,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement.   He raised such cases with Chinese officials in Geneva, and acknowledged their efforts to clarify the matters at issue. However, their responses indicate that the authorities “too often reflexively confuse the legitimate role of lawyers and activists with threats to public order and security,” he said.   Police have detained about 250 human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and activists across the country since a nationwide crackdown began last July, although many were subsequently released. Last month, 15 additional human rights lawyers were formally arrested, 10 of them for the crime of ‘subversion of State power,’ which carries a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Among those facing that particular charge are leading human rights lawyers Li Heping and Wang Yu.   Lawyers should never have to suffer prosecution or any other kind of sanctions or intimidation for discharging their professional duties as they play an essential role in protecting human rights and the rule of law, Mr. Zeid said, urging China to release all immediately and without conditions.   At the same time, he welcomed news of the release of two labour activists detained in Guangdong in December 2015, but noted some of their colleagues remain in detention..   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53242#.VsOVPUDSPh4   16 July 2015   United Nations human rights experts today called on the Chinese authorities to stop what appears to be targeted police harassment and intimidation of lawyers and those working closely with them. “Lawyers are essential to ensure the rule of law; they need to be protected not harassed,” they said.   The independent experts expressed dismay at the ever growing number of lawyers and persons associated with their work, including law firm personnel, legal assistants and human rights defenders, who have been arrested and detained, including incommunicado, or summoned and questioned since 9 July 2015.   More than 100 lawyers have been arrested and detained or interrogated over the last few days in direct connection with their professional activities, according to the information received by the experts. Most of the lawyers are believed to have been working on human rights-related cases, in particular cases where they represented well known political dissidents, journalists and artists.   “If no charges are pressed, the authorities should immediately release all persons detained; alternatively, if they are officially charged with criminal offences, all due process guarantees should be provided, in particular the immediate and adequate access to an independent legal counsel,” they stressed.   “We are particularly concerned about the physical and mental integrity of 10 individuals, including 6 lawyers, who are currently held in police custody or under ‘residential surveillance’ in unknown locations, in most cases incommunicado since their arrests,” they said.   The experts expressed further concern that these persons may have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in contravention of not only the UN Basic Principles of the Role of Lawyers and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also the Chinese Criminal Procedure Code.   “The fate and whereabouts of another 12 persons, including 3 lawyers, who have disappeared in unknown circumstances, are also worrying,” they noted. “We call on the Chinese authorities to investigate these cases urgently and provide full disclosure on the results.”   “In societies governed by the rule of law, lawyers advocate within the legal system on behalf of clients, even where their personal views may differ from the clients’ views,” the independent experts stated. “Lawyers should never have to suffer prosecution or any other kind of sanctions or intimidation for discharging their professional duties.”   The experts underscored that, “as one of the three main actors of an independent justice system, lawyers have an essential role to play in protecting human rights, in particular due process and fair trial guarantees, and ultimately contribute greatly to ensuring respect for the rule of law.” Visit the related web page
	Agenda 2030: Recognition for the Role of Justice and Governance in Sustainable Development by Open Society Foundations   Heads of state and government will gather at the United Nations in New York in September for a summit at which they will endorse a document that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hopes will herald “an historic turning point for our world.”   The document, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, represents the most comprehensive vision for the future of global development yet conceived, negotiated and agreed upon after the most ambitious consultation process ever undertaken by the world body. In Mr. Ban’s view this is “the people’s agenda, a plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly, everywhere, and leaving no one behind.”   The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) first articulated an agreed-upon development agenda for all countries to follow 15 years ago. But the MDGs, now replaced by the 2030 Agenda, were limited in scope and ambition; while much progress has been made towards their achievement, there are considerable gaps that they have not addressed.   One of the main criticisms of the MDGs has been their inability to reach those most in need of assistance. While economic growth in China, India, and Brazil has lifted millions of people out of poverty, the very poorest people have not benefited.   The new 2030 Agenda aims to both complete the work of the MDGs and to tackle some of their failures: by including a range of new thematic areas to be addressed; by emphasizing the interrelated nature of causes of poverty and development outcomes; and by reviewing progress in numerous discrete demographic groups so that no one is left behind.   Since 2012, the Open Society Foundations have called for the new development agenda to include targets on justice and good governance, which are now largely embodied in Goal 16 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals contained in the 2030 plan.   Through the work of our foundations around the world, we know the intrinsic link between fundamental rights and happy, healthy, prosperous, and stable societies. Goal 16 recognizes this link by including targets addressing corruption, tackling violence, promoting accountability and transparency, supporting legal identity, and calling for access to justice and information and the promotion of the rule of law at all levels. Moreover, the importance of equal access to justice and participatory and inclusive approaches to development are recognized throughout the agreement, in the framing preamble, and in the other goals, targets, and review mechanisms.   Despite the potentially transformative inclusion of governance and justice targets, there remain some serious concerns regarding the new agenda. Doubtless some countries will ignore some targets, through choice or lack of capacity, and focus on their own priority areas. Indeed, the widened scope of the new agenda, reflecting the broad consultative process that led to its creation, may also be a potential weakness. Can we really say we have prioritized 17 goals that include 169 separate targets?   Communication also remains a significant challenge: how can we bring this document to life so that it is understood and meaningful to people, particularly those who stand to gain the most through its implementation? The first step towards people benefiting from the new development agenda is making them aware of it.   Finally, the targets themselves lack quantification in many cases (despite some intense lobbying for the inclusion of numeric targets during the through-the-night final stages of the negotiations), meaning that the mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing progress will likely now become even more politicized as states try to agree on common standards of measurement.   Nevertheless, the new sustainable development agenda is a significant milestone to be celebrated. It provides a strong foundation for civil society to build on and take forward over the next 15 years. Whether or not it lives up to its bold ambition will depend on effective implementation. Member states and civil society must work together to devise effective implementation strategies that meet local needs, underpinned by comprehensive and open data that shows where strategies are working and where different approaches are required.   At the international level, states must quickly agree on robust global indicators of progress that can track achievements across the entire development agenda, and an inclusive and open mechanism for reviewing trends and sharing learned experiences. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is not perfect. But it is the best hope we now have for coordinating global efforts to end poverty, fight climate change, and share prosperity.   It sets out a bold call to action that seeks to not only reduce poverty but completely eradicate it, and declares that its mission will have failed unless all sections of society have benefited, declaring that “as we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind.”   The challenge now will be ensuring effective national implementation—with government, business, and civil society working together—and robust and transparent mechanisms for reviewing progress. If we can do that, the world can go far beyond what has been achieved under the MDGs over the past 15 years.   http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/agenda-2030-recognition-role-justice-and-governance-sustainable-development http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/projects/justice-and-development http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/issues/rights-justice http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/what-does-justice-have-do-overcoming-poverty http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/publications/justice-initiatives-legal-empowerment http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/issues/governance-accountability   http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/how-united-states-makes-corruption-africa-worse http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/more-decade-after-kalashnikov-russian-prisons-still-abysmal http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/corporate-war-crimes-prosecuting-pillage-natural-resources Visit the related web page
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