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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Paragraph
Elements of a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders 2014, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Defenders and their families are intimidated, harassed, subject to surveillance, threatened, attacked, arbitrarily arrested, criminalized, tortured and ill-treated in detention, subject to enforced disappearances, and sometimes killed. State and non-State actors are involved in the commission of these acts and impunity tends to prevail when it comes to attacks and violations against defenders. Investigations are excessively protracted, due process is not always guaranteed and perpetrators are often not held accountable.
- 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
- 2014
Paragraph
Elements of a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders 2014, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has presented a set of guidelines that she believes are essential for the development of protection programmes. Firstly, human rights defenders should be consulted throughout the setting up or review of protection programmes and the structure of such programmes should be defined by law. Protection programmes should include an early warning system in order to anticipate and trigger the launch of protective measures. It should also assess the safety of the defenders' family members and relatives. Security and law enforcement officials involved in protection programmes should receive specific training on human rights and gender issues. The physical protection of defenders should not be outsourced to third parties unless these have received specific training. Furthermore, adequate financial resources should be allocated to protection programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2014
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
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
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. 83
- Paragraph text
- In doing this kind of work, women human rights defenders have been subjected to threats against their physical integrity including: killings, mostly in the Americas region (Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras); excessive use of force against them during protests (Brazil, India and Nepal); and attacks by armed assailants (Guatemala). They have also been subjected to threats and death threats (Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Philippines, Peru); and harassment and intimidation (Bahamas, Mexico, Peru), including against their families (Colombia).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
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
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. 117
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is very concerned at the extraordinary risks that these groups of defenders face due to their work in defence of human rights. Most of these risks not only directly affect their physical integrity and that of their family members, but also include the abusive use of legal frameworks against them and the criminalization of their work. The Special Rapporteur is also extremely concerned at reports received indicating that State actors, including Government officials, State security forces and the judiciary, are the perpetrators of many of the violations committed against these 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
- 2012
Paragraph
On the Declaration on human rights defenders 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Restrictions imposed on the right to freedom of assembly have been broadly applied to prohibit or disrupt peaceful human rights assemblies, frequently on the pretext of the need to maintain public order and relying on counter-terrorism legislation, arguments and mechanisms. The mandate holder has identified the following trends as violations of the right to freedom of assembly: (a) use of excessive force against defenders during assemblies; (b) arrest and detention of defenders while exercising their right to assemble or to prevent them from taking part in demonstrations; (c) threats against defenders and members of their families prior to, during or after their participation in a peaceful assembly; (d) judicial harassment and prosecution of defenders; (e) travel restrictions imposed on defenders to prevent them from participating in assemblies outside their country of residence; and (f) restrictions imposed through legislative and administrative measures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The largest number of communications sent (72) concerning defenders working on women's rights and gender-related issues was sent to countries in the Asian region, most notably to the Islamic Republic of Iran (31 communications); China (10 communications); Nepal (eight communications), and Pakistan (six communications). In this region, the alleged violations against women defenders and those working on women's rights and gender issues were mostly judicial by nature, including arrests, judicial harassment, administrative detentions, and sentences to prison. However, violations by non-State actors were also alleged, including intimidation, attacks, death threats, and killings by armed individuals, family and community members, and unidentified individuals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In this regard, the mandate holders have reiterated on several occasions that women defenders are more at risk of suffering certain forms of violence and other violations, prejudice, exclusion, and repudiation than their male counterparts. This is often due to the fact that women defenders are perceived as challenging accepted socio-cultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, sexual orientation, and the role and status of women in society. Their work is often seen as challenging "traditional" notions of the family which can serve to normalize and perpetuate forms of violence and oppression of women. This can, in certain contexts, lead to hostility or lack of support from the general population, as well as the authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- As pointed out by the former Special Representative in her 2002 report to the Commission on Human Rights, the violations faced by women defenders may themselves take a gender-specific form, ranging from verbal abuse based on their sex, to sexual abuse and rape. Cases of the latter are particularly prevalent in situations of conflict, which are often characterized by an environment of complete impunity for perpetrators. Further, in certain contexts, if a women human rights defender is subjected to rape or sexual abuse as a result of her work, she may be perceived by her extended family as having brought shame on both the family and the wider community. Indeed, even when no rape or sexual abuse has occurred, women defenders are often subjected to stigmatization and ostracism by community leaders, faith-based groups, families and communities who consider them to be jeopardizing religion, honour or culture through their work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Previous analyses of the situation of women human rights defenders have tended to focus on the situation of female human rights defenders, i.e. women who, individually or in association with others, act to promote or protect human rights, including women's rights. However, this report will have a somewhat broader scope and will include female defenders but also male human rights defenders working on women's rights as well as on gender issues. Furthermore, account will also be taken of violations against spouses, partners and family members of both female defenders and male human rights defenders.
- 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
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- Considering the dearth of State-based resources for the protection of women defenders and those working on women's rights or gender issues, these defenders often have to take measures for their security into their own hands. Responses have indicated that women defenders and those working on women's rights or gender issues use support networks, including family, community and other defenders, to move away from their homes or bring their children to a safe place for a while if they think necessary. It is reported that in certain countries of the region, women defenders use shelters for abused women as safe places for themselves and their families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
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
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- In some cases, women human rights defenders and those working on women's rights or gender issues must keep their human rights activities out of the public eye so as to mitigate the risks they face. For example, in certain countries they often declare their "social or political meetings" as meetings about childcare or similar since they are more accepted in their societies as corresponding to gender role, in order to avoid some of the pressure. In other countries, they refrain from public discussion of their activities in order to avoid drawing attention to it. Often, they use their family resources to keep themselves safe, including the escort of their family members.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph