In 2009, the very first Day of the Endangered Lawyer was organized.
The purpose of the Day of the Endangered Lawyer is to call attention to threatened human rights lawyers on the day January 24th with a special focus on one designated country.
Ever since lawyers Symone Gaasbeek-Wielinga and Hans Gaasbeek went on a fact-finding mission to the Philippines in 1990, they have been active on behalf of their threatened colleagues all over the world.
Hans and Symone founded the Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer to strengthen their work. In the course of several years, the organization of the Day was successfully transferred to an international Coalition of lawyer organizations.
The course of action of the Day is to present, in as many countries as possible all over the world, a joint petition to ambassadors, consulates and other authorities of the focal countries, based on a thorough report. The report and the petition are made public.
The petition will draw attention to the problematic situation of threatened lawyers in the chosen focus country and also aims to establish a dialogue with the representatives of the country’s government. Furthermore, in the participating countries forum discussions are organized with local fellow lawyers and publications are made about the situation of the lawyers in the focal country.
The Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer also cares for families of threatened or murdered lawyers. And the Foundation supports threatened colleagues who have fled to the Netherlands and Europe.
CARAVANA FILIPINA : THE REPORT BLACK ROBES, RED TARGETS
On the initiative and with active participation of the Foundation an international fact finding mission took place in the Philippines in June 2024 focused on 59 extra judicial killings and other serious human rights violations against legal professionals between 2016 and 2023.
The shocking report of this committee of inquiry is ready .
The mission investigated numerous cases involving lawyers, judges and prosecutors who were subjected to harassment , violence or worse for carrying out their professional duties. 59 killings on lawyers took place. The committee found that in almost none of this cases perpetrators were actively searched or prosecuted and never was one perpetrator brought to trial. Furthermore, the committee has serious suspicion that these killings were orchestraded by the government -related circles.
Please find the report here (to come), and do feel free to circulate it within your own networks. You can also watch the powerful documentary film directed by Jacco Groen here
Action : DAY OF THE ENDANGERED LAWYER 2026 The international coalition for the Day of the Endangered Lawyer will meet on the 17th of June 2025 to choose from six proposed countries the designated country for 2026