Last year during UK Pro Bono Week I wrote about how lawyers can respond to large-scale humanitarian crises by rallying together with their colleagues, peers and clients, pooling skills and resources to help protect the rights of vulnerable people. Looking back over the past year, I am struck by the number of crises that have called for emergency legal support - from the ongoing fallout from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan; to the Russian invasion of Ukraine; to the international migrant crises; to the profound economic and cost of living crisis at home. One of the official themes of this year’s Pro Bono Week is 'crisis and emergency response: lawyers stepping forward when it matters', in recognition of the urgency with which lawyers across the country have responded to these crises and provided vital support to those in need.

Lucy Blake

Lucy Blake

What is also striking is how sustained that need for support is. I spoke last year about how Jenner & Block, in partnership with the remarkable immigration team at Kingsley Napley, has been providing pro bono assistance to a senior Afghan female judge and her adult son at immediate and serious risk of Taliban retaliation. Our client worked in the Afghan judiciary for over twenty years, occupying senior roles in the Criminal Court and Children’s Court, where she sentenced Taliban members, affiliates and sympathisers for crimes involving violence against women, rape, terrorism and conspiring against the Afghan government as well as ruling on cases involving child soldiers and adolescent suicide bombers that related directly to the Taliban. Even before the fall of Kabul, our client was subjected to death threats and attacks on her home from the Taliban. The risks for our client increased exponentially when the Taliban took over, as many of the people she had imprisoned were released onto the streets of Kabul. Our client fled across the border to Pakistan, where she remains in hiding.

Over a year on, we are still fighting her cause. Last year, we brought applications for our client and her son to relocate to the UK to be reunited with their British family members (including our client’s nephew who works for the British Civil Service). The circumstances of our client’s case are hugely compelling. First, because her life, and that of her son, is in acute danger as a direct result of having defended the rights and freedoms upheld by the UK in Afghanistan, such as democracy, women’s rights and the rule of law. Secondly, because her British family would be delighted and have the means to support our client and her son, at no cost to the taxpayer. Thirdly, because the UK government has consistently encouraged refugees seeking the protection of the UK to find safe and legal routes to claim asylum in this country – which is exactly what our client and her son are seeking to do. However, after a ten-month delay, the government denied their applications. Together with Kingsley Napley and barrister Helen Foot of Garden Court Chambers, we have lodged an appeal on human rights and humanitarian grounds – a process that will take more time. All the while, the delay is taking a huge toll on the mental and physical health of our client, her son and their family in the UK.

The crises of the past years require not just an emergency response but also long-term support. Even as the challenges and setbacks mount up; as the media reports subside; as another crisis unfolds and priorities shift, people’s lives continue to be impacted. In 2020, Jenner & Block pledged a five-year commitment to provide $250 million (approximately £220 million at current exchange rates) in free legal services to those in need of access to justice. That need has never appeared greater. As the world faces crisis upon crisis and our justice system buckles under the weight of prolonged under-funding, I am heartened to hear about the phenomenal efforts over the past year of so many of my friends and colleagues across different firms, stepping forward when it matters. I hope in years to come we are all less needed.

If anyone would like to find out more about the case and how they can lend their support, please contact Lucy Blake at lblake@jenner.com.

 

Lucy Blake is special counsel in the investigations, compliance, and defence practice at Jenner & Block in London

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