14th November 2023
Last week, Prism the Gift Fund (Prism) welcomed an audience to the offices of Evelyn Partners for its latest event, The Role of Philanthropy in Protecting Human Rights. We were joined by Prism’s clients and network of private client intermediaries, all with a desire to discuss and develop their understandings of why philanthropy is vital in protecting human rights. People are feeling the true weight of the international crises happening simultaneously – war, climate change, and population displacement are just a few examples that are increasingly becoming a reality for millions.
Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, and Member of the House of Lords, chaired the engaging discussion on human rights with Saul Lehrfreund of the Death Penalty Project (DPP) and David Wolfe KC of Matrix Chambers. Their conversation explored the multitude of complexities in protecting and defending people’s human rights globally and demonstrated why philanthropy is such an important component.
Baroness Kennedy began by providing some legal context on the death penalty worldwide and the injustices it continues to exacerbate. Countries inherited the capital punishment from colonisers centuries before but it remained long after, as nations did not have the means or infrastructures to reform and rebuild its legal systems. Thus, access to justice for citizens residing in ex-colonies has for decades remained almost non-existent.
Highlighting his work for the DPP, Saul Lehrfreund illustrated the powerful impact of pro bono work by law firms and NGOs in protecting those whose human rights are at risk due to the criminal justice system in their country. In 1992 approximately three-hundred people were on death row in Jamaica and now there are none. This is just one of the many countries DPP has advocated for through legal reform and providing legal assistance to those without access to sufficient representation.
Such specialised and complex work must be financially supported. DPP was built as a result of the philanthropic sponsorship of Simons Muirhead & Burton LLP and has been able to continue with its mission for fairer justice systems thanks to ongoing donations. Lehrfreund underlined how human rights cases can take decades to conclude and as such organisations like the DPP rely on long-term charitable grants. This year, following fifteen years working in Ghana, the DPP was pleased to see the death penalty abolished through the repeal of relevant statutes.
The concept of human rights holds a lot of ambiguity and is often assumed to only refer to those cases and issues documented by the media and press. David Wolfe emphasised that when discussing human rights issues, it’s important to bring to the forefront the issues affecting us all, not only those experiencing extreme violations and crises. Wolfe shone a light on human rights in domestic jurisdictions, delineating, for example, the origins of the 2000 Human Rights Act which ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and brought the Convention rights into the UK. Human rights are linked to all aspects of life such as property rights, the right to life, the environment, health, work, equal opportunity – the list goes on.
Wolfe mentioned that whilst the welfare system in the UK has remained relatively intact for many areas such as the NHS and education, legal aid is becoming increasingly harder to obtain. As a result, individuals often rely on the good will extended by the pro bono work of law firms to ensure their human rights are protected. Furthermore, Wolfe demonstrated how case law in a democracy is a key driver of change to improve the implementation of human rights protections. An example given was a discrimination case relating to equal access to IVF for same-sex couples. Providing legal representation for this case contributed to the development of human rights law in the UK by ensuring everyone has equal access to healthcare and protection of their reproductive rights without discrimination. This is a powerful example that bolsters the argument that charitable giving can, and is needed to, protect human rights.
What was clear throughout the evening is that human rights work is needed everywhere. To achieve the realisation and sufficient protection of human rights, legal representatives and organisations require long sustained flexible funding to build a fairer world. This is why philanthropic giving has become increasingly crucial to supporting these movements for positive change and justice. Prism is proud to work closely with such organisations as DPP and Matrix Causes Fund who devote their time and effort to improving the protections of human rights globally. As Baroness Kennedy asserted, we need to work internationally and across organisations to achieve these goals and that is why Prism’s model of giving is perfect for facilitating this process efficiently, whilst navigating the complexities of charitable giving and sustained long-term funding.
The speakers all exhibited their clear and admirable determination in what they are trying to achieve, and it was not surprising that conversations continued long after the panel had finished. We hope this event will be the first in a series of panel discussions focusing on the many roles of philanthropy in society.
About the speakers:
Baroness Helena Kennedy is Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Member of the House of Lords.
Saul Lehrfreund is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Death Penalty Project [DPP], a Non-Governmental Organisation at Simons Muirhead & Burton LLP that is committed to building fairer criminal justice systems globally. DPP works in more than thirty countries protecting prisoners who face the death penalty by providing free legal representation and ultimately working to abolish the death penalty worldwide.
David Wolfe is a barrister at Matrix Chambers and Matrix Causes Fund, a collective fund operating under the auspices of Prism. The fund supports organisations promoting access to justice, equal opportunity, and a sustainable environment for vulnerable groups such as prisoners, asylum seekers, those with mental health difficulties, people with disabilities, and women in refuges.
