Worldwide Lawyers Association (WOLAS) was established by lawyers and academics working in Turkiye, with the aim of conducting activities in the international arena. It is open to individuals who advocate for rights, and its main focus is advocating for rights. Protecting the rights of individuals against both major and minor authorities is one of the association’s primary objectives. In pursuit of this goal, WOLAS adopts an approach that constantly questions the assumptions and blind spots in the understanding of human rights, renewing them with a demand for a more holistic and inclusive concept of justice.
The manifestation of state authority-induced violence has now shifted from a centralised entity to complex institutional networks, involving both major and minor authorities. International organisations, companies, and capitalist societies have also emerged as key players in oppressing people’s rights. In an era where reality is subjectively constructed through power dynamics, even identifying injustices and rights violations has become a formidable challenge. For the struggle for justice, it is crucial that the world public opinion is aware of these events, that they become ingrained in humanity’s memory, and that they are not forgotten or left to the mercy of dominant infocracy organs, exactly as desired and strived for by hegemonic agents.
WOLAS fundamentally adopts the notion that the fight for truth is a prerequisite for the fight for justice. Ethical principles are respected in all their endeavors, and they actively engage in monitoring and reporting activities concerning countries and regions experiencing humanitarian crises. By creating a global network of lawyers, WOLAS aims to bring together advocates of rights/lawyers from all around the world for a systematic/collective struggle. In theory, the association emphasises the performativity of rights-based politics and the struggle for rights. In practice, WOLAS also provide legal assistance to victims, attaching great importance to actively standing alongside the victims in carrying out this struggle.
The approach that a collective consciousness is crucial for a rights-based struggle is prevalent in WOLAS’s work. As an Istanbul-based organisation, WOLAS is dedicated to conducting a rights-based struggle to promote justice. Their mission includes raising awareness among all relevant circles, providing necessary training to take a stance and fight against rights violations, and fostering organised mobilisation.