| Brian Concannon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brian Concannon Jr. November 18, 1963 |
| Alma mater | Middlebury College Georgetown University Law Center |
| Occupation | Human Rights Lawyer and Activist |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | |
| http://ijdh.org/ | |
Brian Concannon, Jr. (born November 18, 1963) is a human rights lawyer who directs the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). He is also the Coordinator of the Lawyers’ Earthquake Response Network (LERN), which coordinates over 300 U.S. lawyers providing legal support for Haiti’s earthquake victims. Brian also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Health and Human Rights: An International Journal at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a BC High alum '81, as well as an Ignatius Award winner. He is also the recipient of the Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship from Harvard as well as the Brandeis International Fellowship in Human Rights, Intervention, and International Law.
From 1996-2004 Brian co-managed the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), Haiti's only public interest law office with Mario Joseph. During his time at the BAI, Brian played an essential role in preparing the prosecution of the landmark Raboteau Massacre trial in 2000. As many as 50 people were killed in the Raboteau in 1994.[1] Six years later Brian and the BAI were able to convict 16 defendants guilty for their role in the massacre. The Court also issued a civil damages judgment against the defendants for 1 billion gourdes (roughly $43 million).[2] A video was made about the trial which features extensive interviews with Concannon.[3]
In 2004, Brian left the BAI to found The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) after the February 2004 coup d’etat that overthrew Haiti’s president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. IJDH was founded specifically as the sister group of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI). IJDH and the BAI work collaboratively on all their projects. IJDH is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
Brian successfully represented former Prime Minister and political prisoner Yvon Neptune in the only Haiti case ever decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights