The Founding President of the Confederation of Lawyer of the Asia and the Pacific, Jitendra Sharma of the Indian Association of Lawyers (IAL), passed away on October 17th, 2024.
We deeply appreciate his contributions to the founding and the conduct of COLAP. Jitendra, as President Emeritus of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), initiated and held the 1st COLAP Conference in New Delhi in 1988. This first COLAP Conference led to five consecutive COLAP Conferences in Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines, and Nepal. He also proposed establishing a progressive lawyers’ organization in Asia and the Pacific, the Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific (COLAP). In 2016, COLAP Confederation held the inaugural assembly to found the organization in Nepal in 2016.
We will always remember his strong and steady leadership, his honed wisdom, and enduring contribution to human rights lawyering in the region.