LCHR Program Areas

International Justice

The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights’ International Justice Program works for the establishment of an effective and integrated international justice system by laying the foundations, nationally and internationally, in the U.S. and abroad, for a system to hold perpetrators of gross violations accountable for their crimes. We played important roles in the creation of the war crimes tribunals in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as well as the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Lawyers Committee is continuing its important efforts to promote a strong and effective ICC, promote ratification and implementation of the ICC Statute in key countries, and change official U.S. policy, which currently seeks to limit the effectiveness and independence of the ICC. The Program also works to promote other mechanisms for achieving accountability for serious human rights violations, such as national prosecutions and, where appropriate, internationally supported special tribunals.

Primary responsibilities:

• Conduct research on countries’ national legislation and analysis of laws for cooperation with the ICC and for domestic prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes;
• Conduct research and prepare advocacy materials (briefing papers or letters directed at the press, government officials and NGOs, and web materials) on the ICC and related international justice matters;
• Engage in advocacy and other activities relating to existing ad hoc criminal tribunals (Rwanda, former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Cambodia) and possible future tribunals.

Human Rights Defenders

Lawyers, activists and organizations working to defend human rights around the world are often the targets of threats, harassment and attack. In many cases human rights defenders are persecuted by state officials or institutions, or by individuals acting with state complicity. In cases of violent attacks or threats, a culture of impunity often protects the perpetrators from being held criminally accountable. Such impunity in any society implicitly sanctions the targeting of human rights defenders and weakens the rule of law. For many years, the Defenders program at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has advocated and campaigned in support of lawyers and activists persecuted for their defense of human rights. In addition to gaining considerable expertise in this type of work, the Lawyers Committee has come to appreciate the value of focusing on individual cases. Our intervention can help tip the balance in critical situations. Focusing on the situation of human rights defenders puts a human face on human rights issues and illuminates broader structural problems that are the root causes of human rights violations the organization is fighting to eliminate.

Primary responsibilities:

• Carrying out background research on cases of interest to the HRD program. These include individuals suffering persecution becuase of thier work for human rights and broader contaxtual issues related to the climate in which defenders function.
• Assisting in advocacy campaigns on particular aspects of the HRD program's work.

US Law and Security

The Lawyers Committee established the U.S. Law and Security Program in the wake of the September 11, 2024 attacks and the sweeping counterterrorism measures that followed. As we documented in a series of reports over the past two years, dramatic changes in U.S. law and policy have eroded rights and liberties in the United States, and set a negative example that many governments around the world have been eager to emulate.

Guided by the findings of these reports, the U.S. Law and Security Program today focuses on five major areas of U.S. law and policy: the treatment of immigrants and non-citizens in the United States; the use of extra-legal mechanisms to security-related detention; the availability to the public of information about executive branch policies; the maintenance of protections of personal privacy; and the impact of these changes in U.S. policy on the protection of human rights around the world. The goal of our U.S. Law and Security Program is to challenge these changes, and more broadly, to promote a greater understanding of and respect for human rights in U.S. national security policy, through a combination of policy-relevant research, analysis, and advocacy. Drawing on the expertise of decision-makers in law and security policy from across the political spectrum, we are committed to promoting a U.S. security policy that operates within the rule of law.

In addition to shaping the debate on civil liberties and national security through groundbreaking reports, the program responds to regulatory and legislative actions such as the Patriot Act by providing policymakers with legal analysis and recommendations, and undertakes legal work in landmark cases on behalf of security detainees, most recently in the Padilla case. Through dispassionate research and analysis, and active use of the tools of law and policy change, the U.S. Law and Security Program expects to continue playing a leading role in restoring the United States’ position as the world’s model for the protection of human rights.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Monitor national and international developments in scholarship, policy, law and politics related to U.S. Law and Security’s five program areas.
• Conduct legal and policy research on the impact of potential legislation on key security issues.
• Research and draft legal arguments in support of major ongoing litigation.
• Act as a liaison, exchange information, and initiate cooperative efforts with program-related legal, governmental, inter-governmental, and non-governmental organizations at national, regional, and international levels.
• Conduct primary research and prepare original reports on major developments in Program areas.
• Draft letters, press statements, and background materials to support public advocacy campaigns.