Justice Defenders Program
Supporting human rights defenders around the world who face retaliation for their work.
José Rubén Zamora, an award-winning Guatemalan journalist and the Founding Director of the now-shuttered Guatemalan outlet ElPeriódico, was prosecuted for money laundering, influence peddling and blackmail. This trial observation report concludes that the pretrial and trial violations in the proceedings against Mr. Zamora rendered his trial fundamentally unfair.
View - The ReportView the Center's materials relating to human rights violations, rule of law, and governmental accountability around the world.
With the blessing of the Roosevelt family, CHR in 2018 established the annual Eleanor Roosevelt Prize for Global Human Rights Advancement to recognize persons and organizations having a positive, enduring, and global impact in advancing the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Eleanor Roosevelt championed.
The Center consists of an executive board, chaired by Roula Allouch, special counselors and an advisory council, all appointed by the ABA president. Liaisons to the Center are appointed by ABA entities and external organizations.
Founded in February 2001, CHR celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2021. This History tells the circuitous tale of CHR’s evolution from one man’s idea, to a small group’s adopted cause, to a new staff’s shared mission, to a multi-faceted defender of human rights and a just rule of law around the world.