This newsletter, our third, follows soon after the second because we have some good news that we need to share by way of updates.
KAMILA SHAMSIE & GILLIAN SLOVO
AT LAURA DEVINE SOLICITORS
First, we want to report on the fundraising event generously hosted by Laura Devine Solicitors in London, on the evening of 28 February 2018. Kamila Shamsie and Gillian Slovo, well-known writers of literary and non-fiction, gave readings on behalf of Last Rights. Kamila read from her Booker-short-listed novel ‘Home Fire’ and Gillian read from her most recent novel ‘Ten Days,’ after which there was a most interesting and ‘sparky’ Q and Q session followed by a raffle of the authors’ books in aid of Last Rights that raised, with a ‘top up’ on the part of Laura, at least £1000.00 bringing us nearer to our target. This will go toward the work on our draft protocols at the May meeting on Lesbos.
A huge thank you to Laura and her team, to Gillian and Kamila and to all of you who joined us and who contributed.
If you were unable to be with us but would like to donate (we are still short of our target and every little helps), please go to the Last Rights My Donate page. Don’t forget to fill in the form if you qualify for gift aid.
Thank you.
LAST RIGHTS CONSULTATION ON THE DRAFT PROTOCOLS
Second, we are delighted to inform readers that the consultation in relation to the draft protocols is already open and will be so until 30 March 2018. Please see the draft protocols and the response form here. This page has an Introduction to the Draft Protocols and a link to the full Draft Protocol document.
And please do respond, whether in brief or in detail as we are very keen to receive as many views as possible.
A short extract from the Introduction to the Draft Protocols can be read below:
The purpose of The Last Rights Project since its inception has been to produce a set of clear and above all practical guidelines, grounded in international law, which everyone working with and having responsibilities to the missing, the dead and their families, can use to help ensure that their rights are guaranteed, whether this is at an immediate, local level or in the development of national and trans-national working arrangements and systems…
These guidelines propose some common principles and basic standards, procedural safeguards and content that we believe can work in any jurisdiction, in any culture and across any boundaries, professional, national and transnational.
We are aware that there will be differences of approach and of opinion on what should be done, how and by whom. These proposals are a first draft designed to begin a conversation on what the final guidelines will look like. We may have inadvertently omitted areas of concern or over-elaborated in others. It may be that we need to suggest more detailed procedural steps or fewer. We are open to all suggestions and constructive criticism.
Contact Us
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Please do subscribe if you would like to receive future editions and be kept informed of developments in the Last Rights Project.
Please get in touch with us through our website to let us know your thoughts and ideas about this newsletter, if you would like to be part of the consultation exercise or to participate in the Last Rights project in another way.
Donate
If you can, please donate via the MyDonate button below. Help someone to say goodbye.
Thank you: Catriona Jarvis & Syd Bolton, Last Rights Co-Conveners
