Human rights defender

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A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campaigners, participants in direct action, or just individuals acting alone. They can defend rights as part of their jobs or in a voluntary capacity. As a result of their activities, human rights defenders (HRDs) are often subjected to reprisals including smears, surveillance, harassment, false charges, arbitrary detention, restrictions on the right to freedom of association, physical attack, and even murder.[1] In 2020, at least 331 HRDs were murdered in 25 countries. The international community and some national governments have attempted to respond to this violence through various protections, but violence against HRDs continues to rise. Women human rights defenders and environmental human rights defenders (who are very often indigenous) face greater repression and risks than human rights defenders working on other issues. In 1998, the United Nations issued their Declaration on Human Rights Defenders to legitimise the work of human rights defenders and extend protection for human rights activity. Following this Declaration, increasing numbers of activists have adopted the HRD label; this is especially true for professional human rights workers.

Definition

The term human rights defender (HRD) became commonly used within the international human rights community after the UN General Assembly issued the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (A/RES/53/144, 1998), commonly known as the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Prior to this Declaration, activist, worker, or monitor were more common terms for people working to defend human rights.[2] The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders created a very broad definition of human rights defenders to include anyone who promotes or defends human rights.[3][4] This broad definition presents both challenges and benefits to stakeholders and donors seeking to support HRD protection programs, as more precise definitions exclude some categories of HRDs, but such broad definition also leaves much room for interpretation and can make it difficult to establish HRD status for some at-risk individuals.[3] In 2004, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued Fact Sheet 29 to further define and support human rights defenders. This document states that, "no 'qualification' is required to be a human rights defender," but that the minimum standards for HRDs are acceptance of the universality of human rights and non-violent action.[5] Some researchers have attempted to demarcate categories of human rights defenders for the purpose of better understanding patterns of HRD risks. Such categorisation may discern professional vs. non-professional activity,[3] or differentiate based on the specific rights that are being defended such as the rights of women,[6] or indigenous land rights.[7]

Self identification

Self-identification as a human rights defender is more common among professional human rights advocates who work within established institutions, governments, or NGOs. Individuals who work outside of these systems commonly self-identify as 'activists', 'leaders', or by a broad range of other terms instead of human rights defenders, even when their activity falls clearly within the scope outlined by the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Use of the HRD identity could benefit human rights activists by legitimising their work and facilitating access to protective measures.[3] Use of the HRD identity can also be counterproductive by directing attention to particular individuals rather than focusing on the collective nature of their work, which may also have the effect of further endangering these individuals.[8]

Protection instruments

Following the adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998, a number of initiatives were taken, both at the international and regional level, to increase the protection of defenders and contribute to the implementation of the Declaration. In this context, the following mechanisms and guidelines were established:

In 2008, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), took the initiative to gather all the human rights defenders' institutional mandate-holders (created within the United Nations, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union) to find ways to enhance coordination and complementarities among themselves and with NGOs. In 2010, a single inter-mechanisms website[9] was created, gathering all relevant public information on the activities of the different human rights defenders' protection mandate-holders. It aims to increase the visibility of the documentation produced by the mechanisms (press releases, studies, reports, statements), as well as of their actions (country visits, institutional events, trials observed). In 2016, the International Service for Human Rights published the 'Model National Law on the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders'.[2] This document provides authoritative guidance to states on how to implement the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders at the national level. It was developed in collaboration with hundreds of defenders and endorsed by leading human rights experts and jurists. Several countries have introduced national legislation or policies to protect human rights defenders including Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Guatemala; however, key challenges in implementation remain.[10]

Electronic mapping

Electronic mapping is a newly developed tool using electronic networks and satellite imagery and tracking. Examples include tactical mapping, crisis mapping and geo-mapping. Tactical mapping has been primarily used in tracking human rights abuses by providing visualization of the tracking and implementation monitoring.[11]

Examples of HRDs

In 2017, Human rights lawyer Emil Kurbedinov,[12] a Crimean Tatar, won the 2017 Award for Frontline Human Rights Defenders at Risk. Kurbedinov has been an avid defender of civil society militants, mistreated Crimean Tatars, and members of the media. He documents violations of human rights during searches of activists' residences as well as emergency responses. In January 2017, the Crimean Center for Counteracting Extremism[13] arrested and detained the lawyer. He was taken to a local facility of the Russian Federal Security Service[14] for questioning. A district tribunal ruled that Kurbedinov was guilty of doing propaganda work for terrorist groups and organizations. He was sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment.[15][undue weight? – discuss]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Amnesty International (2017). Human rights defenders under threat – A shrinking space for civil society.
  2. ↑ "About human rights defenders". OHCHR.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Malkova, P (2018). "Exploring the Term 'Human Rights Defender' through the Lens of Professionalisation in Human Rights Practice: A Case-Study of Russia" (PDF). Human Rights Defender Hub Working Paper Series 3. York: Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York.
  4. ↑ "Declaration on Human Rights Defenders". OHCHR.
  5. ↑ "Human Rights Defenders: Protecting the Right to Defend Human Rights" (PDF). OHCHR. 2004.
  6. ↑ "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya (2010)". United Nations. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  7. ↑ Larsen; Billon; Menton; Aylwin; Balsiger; Boyd; Forst; Lambrick; Santos; Storey; Wilding (2021). "Understanding and responding to the environmental human rights defenders crisis: The case for conservation action". Conservation Letters. 14 (3). Bibcode:2021ConL...14E2777B. doi:10.1111/conl.12777. S2CID 229390470.
  8. ↑ Verweijen, Judith (2021). Menton, Mary (ed.). Environmental and Land Defenders: Deadly Struggles for Life and Territory. New York: Routledge. pp. 37–49.
  9. ↑ "humanrights-defenders.org". Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  10. ↑ Amnesty International (2017). Americas: State protection mechanisms for human rights defenders.
  11. ↑ Movements.org. “Maptivism: Mapping Information for Advocacy and Activism."
  12. ↑ "In Russian-held Crimea, lawyer fights repression against Crimean Tatars – Apr. 03, 2017". KyivPost. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  13. ↑ "Menacing FSB interrogations of Ukrainian Cultural Centre activists in Russian-occupied Crimea – Human Rights in Ukraine". Human Rights in Ukraine. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "Federal Security Service – The Russian Government". government.ru. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "Person of the Week: Emil Kurbedinov – Rights in Russia". www.rightsinrussia.info. Retrieved 25 June 2018.

External links

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