ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
“Human rights defender” is a term used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote or protect human rights. All human rights for all
To be a human rights defender, a person can act to address any human right (or rights) on behalf of individuals or groups. Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social and cultural
rights. Human rights defenders address any human rights concerns, which can be as varied as, for example, summary executions, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, female genital mutilation, discrimination, employment issues, forced evictions, access to health care, and toxic waste and its
impact on the environment. Defenders are active in support of human rights as diverse as the rights to LIFE, to FOOD and WATER, to the highest attainable standard of health, to adequate housing, to a name and a nationality, to education, to freedom of movement and to non-discrimination. They sometimes address the rights of categories of persons, for example women’s rights, children’s rights, the rights of indigenous persons, the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the rights of national, linguistic or sexual minorities.
2. Human rights everywhere
Human rights defenders are active in every part of the world: in States that are divided by internal armed conflict as well as States that are stable; in States that are non-democratic as well as those that have a strong People all over the world strive for the realization of human rights according to their circumstances and in their own way. The names of some human rights defenders are internationally recognized, but the majority of defenders remain unknown. Whether an individual works as a local government official, a policeman upholding the law or an entertainer using his or her position to highlight injustices, all can play a role in the advancement of human rights. The key is to look at how such people act to support human rights and, in some instances, to see whether a “special effort” is made. Clearly, it is impossible to catalogue the huge variety of contexts in which human rights defenders are active. However, common to most defenders are a commitment to helping others, a commitment to international human rights standards, a belief in equality and in non-discrimination, determination and, in many instances, tremendous courage. Who can be a human rights defender? There is no specific definition of who is or can be a human rights defender. The Declaration on human rights defenders (see annex I) refers to “individuals, groups and associations … contributing to … the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals” (fourth preambular paragraph). In accordance with this broad categorization, human rights defenders can be any person or group of persons working to promote human rights, ranging from intergovernmental organizations based in the world’s largest cities to individuals working within their local communities. Defenders can be of any gender, of varying ages, from any part of the world and from all sorts of professional or other backgrounds. In particular, it is important to note that human rights defenders are not only found within NGOs and intergovernmental organizations but might also, in some instances, be government officials, civil servants or members of the private sector. Examples of acts committed against human rights defenders
The following paragraphs describe some of the human rights violations and obstacles faced by human rights defenders in the course of their work. While some of these acts may occur only once, they often continue to have an impact on defenders and their families for months or even years afterwards. Death threats, for example, can oblige human rights defenders to change their daily routines completely, as well as those of their immediate family, or even to leave their country to seek temporary asylum abroad. Many human rights defenders have been the victims of killings as a direct response to their human rights work. They have been abducted by unidentified persons and sometimes by confirmed members of security forces and later been found dead or made to disappear completely. Assassination attempts have left defenders seriously injured and requiring hospitalization and surgery. In some regions of the world, death threats are used widely as a means of threatening and intimidating human rights defenders into stopping their work. Threats are often anonymous, made by telephone or letter. In some instances, however, the threats are made by persons known to the defenders, but who are not investigated or charged by the police. The lack of effective police or judicial response to killings and death threats creates a climate of impunity that encourages and perpetuates these violations. Human rights defenders are sometimes kidnapped, for short or long periods, and beaten during their captivity. Military personnel, police and security force officials have resorted to severe beatings in an attempt to torture defenders into making false confessions or in reprisal for a defender’s denunciation of violations committed by security forces. Arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defenders are common, and most often conducted without arrest warrants and in the absence of any official charge. Periods of preventive detention, without any judicial review, are sometimes very long and occur in very poor conditions of detention. Human rights defenders can be particularly vulnerable to beatings, ill-treatment and torture while in detention. Is a minimum standard required of human rights defenders? No “qualification” is required to be a human rights defender, and the Declaration on human rights defenders makes clear, as explained above, that we can all be defenders of human rights if we choose to be. Nevertheless, the “standard” required of a human rights defender is a complex issue, and the Declaration clearly indicates that defenders have responsibilities as well as rights. This Fact Sheet draws attention to the following three key issues:
Accepting the universality of human rights
Human rights defenders must accept the universality of human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
