With the Latin American Federation of Judges (FLAM), the team organized a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in March. Seven judges presented on conditions in their home countries, using the Vance Center’s country-level assessments to report on threats to their independence and emphasize the need for the IACHR to engage with governments in the region to improve conditions for judges.  

In addition to the regional dialogue held in Mexico in October, we also organized and hosted a workshop on judicial independence, focused on countries in Central America, with Federación Centroamericana de Juezas y Jueces por la Democracia (FECAJUD).

In the case before the IACHR on behalf of exiled Guatemalan Judge Erika Aifán, testimonies from 13 more former justice operators strengthened our submission.  

All publications related to judicial independence are available here: https://www.vancecenter.org/publications/?slug=latin-america-policy 

Lawyers for Reporters expanded its work to sustain public interest reporting in the U.S. through providing pro bono legal services to independent, local and mission-driven news organizations. We added two experienced media law attorneys to the team, which assisted 59 new and dozens more returning clients this year. Check out this map of the locations of our clients and the communities they serve.

Reporters Shield, an initiative of the Vance Center and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, has vetted more than 100 applications from public interest reporting organizations for the first round of membership. The Vance Center is responsible for coordinating the provision of legal services to members, including training, pre-publication review, and finding and funding legal defense.  

This year, the Environment Program submitted two amicus briefs in significant international climate cases. The Program worked with Milbank LLP on a brief to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on behalf of three UN Special Rapporteurs to help inform ITLOS’ advisory opinion on State parties’ obligations related to climate change. In November, we again partnered with Milbank lawyers and the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights and the environment, toxics and human rights, and the right to development to submit a brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on States’ climate obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights.

The program also provided expert support to civil society organizations, enhancing their ability to engage in environmental rights defense and advocacy. Building on previous legal workshops on the Escazú Agreement and its country-level implementation, we conducted research for WECAN International on free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) to inform advocacy and training for the organization’s networks of Indigenous women environmental and land defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

The Human Rights Program extended pro bono legal support to Women in Prison Network members in Guatemala on exploitative conditions for women in mixed prisons, the right to health and adequate nutrition, and the criminalization of women human rights defenders.  

In Bolivia, our efforts focused on strategic litigation regarding the criminalization of self-defense in cases of domestic violence and of sexual harassment. At the international level, the program assisted with the submission of reports to UN bodies on women deprived of liberty and advancing racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement.  

Our Keep Families Together initiative strives to ensure that migrant children and families have the legal documentation they need to secure immigration relief in the U.S. The work depends on a committed network of legal partners, who dedicate their resources and a great deal of time to obtaining critical legal information for KFT clients.  

As of 2023, KFT has: 

Collaborated with 150 legal partners to support the legal representation of 450 separated children and families from 35 countries.

In April, the Africa Program launched with national partners the Pro Bono Institute of Kenya, the country’s first pro bono clearinghouse.  

Discussions on the current state and future of pro bono work, including engaging the next generation of lawyers and pro bono practitioners, took place at events throughout the year: in Costa Rica with the Pro Bono Network of the Americas, in New York at the World Law Congress and around the UN General Assembly, and in South Africa for our 20th Anniversary celebration.

The second year of the Advancing Women in the Workplace (AWW) project in South Africa welcomed a new cohort of 40 mentors and mentees, explored barriers and opportunities for women in specialized areas of law that have historically offered little space for women’s leadership, and provided professional development opportunities such as fireside chats and trainings

Three new practitioners from Brazil, Peru, and Chile joined this year’s cohort. They are working on projects at clearinghouse members of the Pro Bono Network of the Americas to address discrimination against Afro-descendant women in Brazil, improve access to justice for transgender women in Peru, and identify legal reforms to address overcrowding and other confinement conditions in Chile.