In memoriam: Nicholas Howen

Sadly, the community of human rights defenders around the world lost a good friend and ally. Nicholas Howen, the Executive Director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), died on the 26th of January, after a difficult battle with cancer.

Some of us in PBI worked with Nick during the first years of the Nepal project: Nick Howen and the ICJ were instrumental in facilitating the opening of that project in 2005-6, supporting PBI financially through a joint exploratory investigation project. Helping PBI start up was just one of Nick’s many strategic contributions to the work of human rights defenders in Nepal. Prior to joining ICJ, Nick was the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the South-east Asia region, and from his base in Bangkok, he played a key role in mobilizing the international community to respond to the growing crisis in Nepal – including laying the groundwork for the launching of the major OHCHR presence that opened in 2005. In his years in the High Commissioners office, he was an important advocate for increasing the UN’s commitment to field protection of human rights defenders around the world.

An Australian human rights lawyer, Nick Howen’s career also included directing an OHCHR human rights operation in Angola, serving as Legal Counsel to Amnesty International for many years, founding the Tibet Information Network, and much more. He leaves behind his wife Lucy, and their children Suzy, Julia, and Helena. He will be deeply missed.

Peace Brigades International