A/HRC/43/51
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
30 December 2019
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Forty-third session
24 February–20 March 2020
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Human rights defenders operating in conflict and
post-conflict situations
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders
Summary
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders analyses the situation of human rights defenders operating in conflict and postconflict areas. He addresses their critical contribution in these settings, spells out the
applicable legal framework and the attached obligations, and considers current trends with
respect to their protection and key rights for them to operate effectively. He reviews the
initiatives of States and other stakeholders, and the United Nations response to date. In the
report, he highlights the extreme risks to which defenders are exposed, the wide-ranging
attempts to silence their work and the persistence of protection gaps and impunity, in spite
of positive developments. The Special Rapporteur calls for compliance with the existing
legal norms and standards, and suggests ways forward to protect and support defenders
striving to operate in these contexts.
GE.19-22633(E)