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Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Threats and death threats - which may be delivered in person, by telephone, in printed pamphlets or mock obituaries and electronically via text message or e-mail -- can be seen as representative of risks, but also as violations in themselves which may significantly harm the psychological integrity of the defender, as well as possibly predating an attack. These threats are directed not only at the defenders themselves but also their family members, as well as female family members of male human rights defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Family members of women defenders, along with female relatives and associates of male defenders, are also commonly targeted as a way of curtailing the activities of the defenders. In some circumstances, attacks against family members and children of women defenders are reflective of traditional gender stereotypes of women as mothers and caregivers. The mandate has on many occasions expressed concern regarding the physical and psychological integrity of family members of women defenders and female relatives and associates of male defenders. From 2004 to 2009, some 86 communications sent by the mandate dealt with violations against family members or associates of women defenders, or female family members and/or associates of male human rights defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Women working in trade unions, and other labour rights activists also appear to be exposed to regular violations and severe risks as a result of their work, although it appears that this is so in certain regions more than in others. This group was the subject of 40 communications sent by the mandate, including six communications regarding alleged violations against female relatives and partners of male trade unionists and labour rights activists. The largest proportion of these (13 communications) was sent to Colombia, with others being sent to countries including Gambia, Guatemala, Honduras, Myanmar and Zimbabwe.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The increased scale of acts of reprisal against environmental human rights defenders protesting against environmental harms caused by projects funded by international financial institutions is disquieting. The submissions received revealed large gaps between professed commitments to participation and accountability and the situation on the ground, pointing to an overwhelming failure by those institutions to assess risks and respond to reprisals effectively. One report documented case studies in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Uganda and Uzbekistan of reprisals taking a variety of forms. The critics of projects funded by the World Bank Group were reportedly the target of threats, intimidation tactics and baseless criminal charges. Some women faced sexual harassment or gender-based threats, attacks, or insults when they spoke out. Security forces responded violently to peaceful protests, physically assaulting community members and arbitrarily arresting them. In other cases, critics or their family members were threatened with the loss of their jobs or livelihoods. In many countries, such reprisals often occurred within a broader effort to demonize critics as unpatriotic or "anti-development".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- During the 2004-2009 period, the mandate sent some 29 communications regarding threats and death threats against this group of defenders in sub-Saharan African countries. Half of these communications concerned those working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this context, those regularly targeted included members of organizations working on women's rights issues, particularly impunity for sexual and other forms of violence against women in the context of the armed conflict, and their family members, along with wives and other female family members of male human rights defenders. The threats delivered included numerous death threats and often accompanied attacks or break-ins at the home of the defender in question. The sources of such threats were often armed individuals and members of the armed groups party to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including State forces and police. A similar pattern of threats against defenders working on women's rights, albeit less frequently reported, was notable in Zimbabwe, primarily women's rights defenders. Other communications were also sent to the Central African Republic, Kenya and Uganda.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Work in progress, challenges and the way forward 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- While these figures allow some trends to be discerned, it is important to bear in mind that they do not reflect cases not covered by the mandate. Many defenders and their families are unaware that they can contact the Special Rapporteur and, given the urgency of the situations concerned, they sometimes prefer to turn to mechanisms or organizations that provide very short-term solutions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Good practices in the protection of human rights defenders 2016, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- In emergencies, the search for safe accommodation and workspace is often conducted on an ad hoc basis. Defenders are able to relocate more smoothly and safely when networks and organizations that support them have them readily available. Relocation is often a stressful experience. Structured relocation initiatives that allow defenders to continue their work while away, help them to forge links with host communities, provide support for their families and allow for flexibility in their duration of stay help defenders to manage the uncertainty, isolation and challenges of relocating elsewhere. While such initiatives can be developed anywhere, they usually require the contribution of local organizations with the capacity to raise and manage funds, negotiate hosting requirements and respond appropriately to the specific risks and vulnerabilities of defenders, providing them with the support they need. A number of civil society organizations that manage relocation initiatives have helped defenders to capitalize on their time away by creating opportunities for them to build their networks of contacts, conduct advocacy, support human rights education in host communities and strengthen their knowledge, skills and abilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Good practices in the protection of human rights defenders 2016, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Materials and training should be made easily accessible, including online, as defenders may not always be able to enter face-to-face programmes. Where possible, training should also be provided to persons close to defenders, such as their families, who may be crucial in supporting defenders in times of crisis and whose own security may be affected by the work of defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Workplan and Future Activities of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Human rights defenders are often exposed to the same threats and attacks, but some are more exposed or more threatened, or are subjected to particular attacks, in the form of smear campaigns, intimidation, stigmatization, threats to their families, defamation, accusations, ridicule or red tape.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Workplan and Future Activities of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- According to statements that he heard at his first consultations in Geneva and at regional consultations, such attacks may take a variety of forms: personal threats or threats against members of defenders' families, smear campaigns, death threats, physical attacks, kidnapping, judicial harassment, murder and other forms of police harassment or intimidation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Vision and Working Methods of the Mandate 2014, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- Reprisals may take various forms, from threats against the defenders themselves or their families, defamation campaigns, death threats, physical violence, abductions, hounding by law enforcement, assassinations or various forms of harassment and intimidation by the police.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Vision and Working Methods of the Mandate 2014, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- All are frequently exposed to the same threats and attacks, but some of them are more exposed or more threatened, or are subject to particular forms of attack, notably denigration or intimidation campaigns, stigmatization, threats against their families, defamation, denunciation or mockery, or unfounded administrative complications.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- During the period (2004-2009) cited, the mandate sent 292 communications that expressed concern in relation to threats and death threats against women defenders or those working on women's rights or gender-related issues and their family members. Of these, 130 explicitly concerned death threats.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 104
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is dismayed at the extraordinary risks that women human rights defenders and those working on women's right or gender issues face due to their work. Most of these risks directly affect their physical integrity and that of their family members.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- An alarming number of women human rights defenders and their relatives have paid the highest price for their work. During the 2004-2009 period, 39 communications were sent regarding killings of one or more defenders, their family members, or female relatives of male human rights defenders, along with thirty-five communications regarding attempted killings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Security and protection of human rights defenders 2010, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- These examples should constitute a basis for States to anticipate high-risk situations and develop or improve protection measures. In the situations mentioned above, the safety of defenders' families and relatives should also be assessed. Whenever possible, early warning systems should also be developed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Good practices in the protection of human rights defenders 2016, para. 111
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur proposes seven principles that, in his view, should underpin good practices by States in the protection of human rights defenders:] Principle 5: They should acknowledge that defenders are interconnected. They should not focus on the rights and security of individual defenders alone, but also include the groups, organizations, communities and family members who share their risks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Global trends in risks and threats facing human rights defenders 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- In addition, women defenders complained of gaps in the responses of the various mechanisms and organizations that do not take men-women issues sufficiently into account (for instance, in resettlement programmes, from which families are often excluded). Women defenders likewise mentioned the need for them to be included from the outset in the preparation of programmes to protect them, in order to get away from a sometime paternalistic approach that plays down the challenges they face.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Elements of a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders 2014, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- During her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has extensively focused on integrating a gender perspective throughout her work and has paid particular attention to the specificities of the environment in which women human rights defenders operate. She has addressed the heightened risks and challenges faced by women human rights defenders and those working on women's rights and gender issues; and highlighted the repercussions that such work may have on partners, spouses, and family members of defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Selected groups of defenders at risk: journalists and media workers, defenders working on land and environment issues; and youth and student defenders 2012, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- Six communications involved raids/searches of offices, confiscation of materials (including computers and paper files) and surveillance of defenders, their organizations, their homes and/or offices. Five communications included violations of psychological integrity including death threats, harassment by police, security forces and non-State actors and, in some cases, these actions targeted defenders' family members.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- It is worth noting that aside from non-State actors, a large proportion of reported threats and death threats in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa were attributed to State agents, including police and other authorities. In addition, other reported perpetrators of killings, attempted killings and physical attacks were unknown individuals, but also political activists and extremists, members of the community and family members.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- This section focuses primarily on an analysis of the communications sent by the mandate during the 2004-2009 period. The analysis is based upon the communications sent during this period which addressed violations against women defenders and those working on women's rights or gender issues and against their family members, identifying the nature of the activities carried by the reported victims, as well as the alleged violations and perpetrators, with a view to identifying possible trends.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
On the Declaration on human rights defenders 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In addition, community leaders and faith-based groups are increasingly resorting to the stigmatization of - and attacks against - defenders working on issues such as the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, violence against women and domestic violence. Also, women human rights defenders working in the area of domestic violence and other types of violence against women are often pressured by family members or threatened by the perpetrators to drop cases.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Violations committed against defenders by non-State actors 2010, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur concurs with the opinion of the Human Rights Committee that "failure by a State Party to investigate allegations of violations could in and of itself give rise to a separate breach of the Covenant. Cessation of an ongoing violation is an essential element of the right to an effective remedy". The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that States should also investigate threats committed against families and relatives of human rights defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Work in progress, challenges and the way forward 2017, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The decline in cases of reprisals is deceptive. It does not account for many of the tragedies experienced by defenders on the ground or for the perverse effect of such acts on the whole of civil society in its struggle to protect human rights. The Special Rapporteur has observed that reprisals take the form of threats, surveillance, prohibition from leaving a country, arrests on spurious grounds and physical attacks against defenders and their families. They may be intended mainly to affect individuals and their families, but they also hamper any form of long-term cooperation, thus isolating a country's civil society from the rest of the international community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Work in progress, challenges and the way forward 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has also initiated a series of regional consultations on the impunity enjoyed by those who attack defenders. All too often, the perpetrators of such attacks are not convicted. The distress of victims and families who seek justice and reparation meets with indifference and even hostility on the part of law enforcement and judicial officers. It is therefore important to have a sharper understanding of the situation and to better identify the factors behind impunity so that specific recommendations can be made to States and other actors involved.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The assassination of environmental human rights defenders is only part of the overall violence they face. The submissions received by the Special Rapporteur show that environmental human rights defenders confront numerous threats and violations, including violent attacks and threats to their families, enforced disappearances, illegal surveillance, travel bans, blackmail, sexual harassment, judicial harassment and use of force to dispel peaceful protests. Such violations are committed by State and non-State actors, and take place in the context of the overall stigmatization, demonization and delegitimization of environmental human rights defenders. In some countries, violations are intertwined with the overall climate of criminalization of their work, especially in the context of large-scale development projects (see A/68/262).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- With regard to the types of violations, communications indicate that environmental human rights defenders faced a high risk of threat to their physical integrity (more than 151 killings were documented during the same period), while a further 57 individuals and 5 communities were physically attacked. They have also been intimidated (54 individuals, 17 organizations and 1 community) and harassed (more than 31 individuals, 8 families, 5 communities and 3 groups). More than 91 environmental human rights defenders have been imprisoned and arbitrarily detained, while more than 82 have been arrested for their rights work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Global trends in risks and threats facing human rights defenders 2015, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Lawyers are attacked and threatened both in their capacity as defenders and for the part they play in defending defenders. Their offices are ransacked, their communications are intercepted by the authorities or third parties, and they are sometimes victims of intimidation campaigns that may even include the withdrawal of their license to operate. These lawyers, and in some cases their families, also pointed out that they were regularly the object of attacks, harassment campaigns, arbitrary detention, or acts of torture. Lawyers working for defenders have been slandered and accused of treason or of having ties to terrorism. Their work is continually obstructed and there, too, defenders have to contend with the lack of an independent judiciary.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Elements of a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders 2014, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur remains gravely concerned that women defenders are subject to arrests, ill-treatment, torture, criminalization, unwarranted judicial proceedings, stigmatization, attacks, threats (including death threats), sexual violence and killings. Furthermore, in many cases, the family members of women defenders are also targeted. In comparison to male defenders, women defenders are more at risk of suffering certain forms of violence, as well as prejudice, exclusion and repudiation. This occurs because women defenders are often perceived as challenging accepted sociocultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, sexual orientation, and the role and status of women in society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph