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Minority Rights Group International Legal Director highly commended in prestigious law awards

1 November 2017

Lucy Claridge, Minority Rights Group International’s Legal Director, and her work in advocating minority and indigenous peoples’ rights, has been recognized by the Law Society’s prestigious Excellence Awards in London.

Claridge, who has led MRG’s legal work since 2009, was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Human Rights Lawyer of the Year category at the awards ceremony on 19 October. This category celebrates excellence and outstanding achievement in human rights.

‘I am extremely honoured to see our legal work being recognized by the Law Society,’ said Claridge, ‘I would like to thank all our partners and supporters of our work who have contributed greatly to our success. Now more than ever we must continue to stand up for the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples around the world.’

The Highly Commended award recognized Claridge’s role in winning leading cases and her commitment to the cause of indigenous and minority rights.

Earlier this year Claridge successfully argued an historic land rights case before the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights in support of the Ogiek community of Kenya. Following an eight-year legal battle, the Court found that the Kenyan government violated seven separate articles of the African Charter in a land rights case that dates back to colonial times. This was a huge victory for Kenya’s Ogiek that sets a major precedent for indigenous peoples’ land rights.

MRG’s legal work also includes land rights cases in Tanzania and Burundi; tribal recognition and equality for the Wayeyi in Botswana; challenging slavery of Haratine women and children in Mauritania and promoting Roma rights in Macedonia and Ukraine.

Claridge is a UK-qualified solicitor with extensive experience litigating and advocating minority and indigenous peoples’ rights issues before regional, international and domestic bodies. She was previously Legal Director at the Kurdish Human Rights Project and Deputy Director of British Irish Rights Watch, and is currently a trustee at Anti-Slavery International.

Notes to editors: 

  • Minority Rights Group International is the leading organization working for the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide. We have decades of experience securing rights and combating discrimination, and our work is more relevant than ever today.
  • Find out more about MRG’s legal work.
  • For more information or to arrange interviews contact:

Emma Eastwood, Senior Media Officer, MRG (London, UK)

E: [email protected] / T: +44 2074224205 / M: +44 7989699984

Twitter: @MinorityRights 

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Mark Lattimer, Lucy Claridge and Cecile Clerc (L-R) of MRG at the Law Society Awards, October 2017.