EHRAC mourns the passing of Jonathan Cooper OBE

Like much of the human rights community, the team at EHRAC were shocked by news of the unexpected passing of Jonathan Cooper OBE, who died suddenly on 20 September 2021 whilst hiking with his husband, Kevin.

We mourn Jonathan not because he was a giant in the human rights field, advancing LGBTQ+ rights around the globe through fearless litigation and advocacy, championing the Human Rights Act in the UK, and training hundreds of lawyers around the world on human rights standards. Of course, he was all of this, and the impact of his work will live on, and his work and achievements will remain an inspiration for us all.

Instead, we mourn him because he was a dear friend of EHRAC. He was always an active supporter of EHRAC’s work and colleague and mentor to many of the EHRAC team. He was loyal, passionate and principled, and was always utterly himself. We will miss him.

We send our condolences to Kevin and to Jonathan’s extended family.