Declaration of the International Association of Prosecutors

The IAP notes with growing concern the frequency with which prosecutors are the object of physical attacks in relation to their duties

The International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) has noted with growing concern the frequency with which prosecutors have recently been the object of physical attacks and in some cases have been murdered in relation to their duties. In the very recent past the Attorney General of Egypt, Hesham Barakat, was killed in a terrorist attack and prosecutors have been murdered in countries as diverse as Uganda, Honduras and Turkey.

The Rule of Law is essential to freedom and democracy. Prosecutors play a fundamental role in protecting it. They must be able to perform their function without fear of harm or death.The IAP wishes to remind all governments that under Article 5 of the United Nations Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, state authorities have a duty to provide physical protection to prosecutors when their personal safety is threatened as a result of the discharge of their prosecutorial functions. Attention is also drawn to the Declaration on Minimum Standards concerning the Security and Protection of Public Prosecutors and their Families adopted by the IAP in 2008, which identify the steps that should be taken to protect prosecutors.

The undersigned who are members of the International Association of Prosecutors and are in attendance at the 20th Annual Conference of the IAP on September, 14th 2015 in Zurich fully endorse the above declaration.