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The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Human rights defenders should be able to contribute to the full realization of Covenant rights for all, free from any form of harassment. States parties should respect, protect and promote the work of human rights defenders and other civil society actors towards the realization of the right to just and favourable conditions of work, including by facilitating access to information and enabling the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and public participation.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Finally, the Committee draws the attention of States parties to the challenges facing human rights defenders. The Committee has regularly come across accounts of threats and attacks aimed at those seeking to protect their own or others’ Covenant rights, particularly in the context of extractive and development projects. In addition, trade union leaders, leaders of peasant movements, indigenous leaders and anti-corruption activists are often subject to the risk of harassment. States parties should take all measures necessary to protect human rights advocates and their work. They should refrain from resorting to criminal prosecution to hinder their work, or from otherwise obstructing their work.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to work (Art. 6) 2005, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- States parties should respect and protect the work of human rights defenders and other members of civil society, in particular the trade unions, who assist disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups in the realization of their right to work.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Article 19: Freedoms of opinion and expression 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Extreme care must be taken by States parties to ensure that treason laws and similar provisions relating to national security, whether described as official secrets or sedition laws or otherwise, are crafted and applied in a manner that conforms to the strict requirements of paragraph 3. It is not compatible with paragraph 3, for instance, to invoke such laws to suppress or withhold from the public information of legitimate public interest that does not harm national security or to prosecute journalists, researchers, environmental activists, human rights defenders, or others, for having disseminated such information. Nor is it generally appropriate to include in the remit of such laws such categories of information as those relating to the commercial sector, banking and scientific progress. The Committee has found in one case that a restriction on the issuing of a statement in support of a labour dispute, including for the convening of a national strike, was not permissible on the grounds of national security.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Article 19: Freedoms of opinion and expression 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- It is normally incompatible with paragraph 3 to restrict the freedom of journalists and others who seek to exercise their freedom of expression (such as persons who wish to travel to human rights-related meetings) to travel outside the State party, to restrict the entry into the State party of foreign journalists to those from specified countries or to restrict freedom of movement of journalists and human rights investigators within the State party (including to conflict-affected locations, the sites of natural disasters and locations where there are allegations of human rights abuses). States parties should recognize and respect that element of the right of freedom of expression that embraces the limited journalistic privilege not to disclose information sources.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 25d
- Paragraph text
- [The Independent Expert underlines the key role of civil society and human rights defenders and the need for more effective action to counter threats and reprisals against them. Of note is a submission to the Human Rights Council by a number of non-governmental organizations earlier this year, in which they called upon States, inter alia:] To ensure that organizations working on issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics can seek, receive and use funding and other resources from individuals, associations, foundations or other civil society organizations, foreign Governments and aid agencies, the private sector, the United Nations and other entities.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 25a
- Paragraph text
- [The Independent Expert underlines the key role of civil society and human rights defenders and the need for more effective action to counter threats and reprisals against them. Of note is a submission to the Human Rights Council by a number of non-governmental organizations earlier this year, in which they called upon States, inter alia:] To review and repeal all laws and policies which, directly or indirectly, criminalize, stigmatize or discriminate against LGBTI defenders;
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 25b
- Paragraph text
- [The Independent Expert underlines the key role of civil society and human rights defenders and the need for more effective action to counter threats and reprisals against them. Of note is a submission to the Human Rights Council by a number of non-governmental organizations earlier this year, in which they called upon States, inter alia:] To ensure the protection of human rights defenders working on issues of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics, against any violence, threat, retaliation, de facto or de jure discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action perpetrated by the State or non-State actors, in response to their human rights activities;
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 25c
- Paragraph text
- [The Independent Expert underlines the key role of civil society and human rights defenders and the need for more effective action to counter threats and reprisals against them. Of note is a submission to the Human Rights Council by a number of non-governmental organizations earlier this year, in which they called upon States, inter alia:] To remove barriers to the full recognition, registration and/or accreditation of organizations that promote and protect the human rights of persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics at the national, regional and international levels;
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The Independent Expert took part in a lecture at a seminar for human rights defenders in Manila, highlighting in particular the channels for activating communications through the United Nations special procedures to seek protection and redress. He attended various European activities in relation to the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in Brussels, calling for strategic action to overcome violence and discrimination, including the need for human rights-sensitive laws, policies, programmes, case enforcement in the courts, accessible mechanisms and personnel, resources, education and monitoring, data generation, accountability provisions, and networking and mobilization for national reforms to comply with international standards. During the regular session of the Human Rights Council in March 2017, he contributed to a panel on transgender persons, mental health and human rights and advocated the need to engage more strongly with the health sector, particularly on such issues as conversion therapy, forced sterilization, medical diagnosis and counselling, all of which might be interlinked with violence and discrimination, as well as the need for comprehensive health care for all. Concurrently, he helped to train human rights defenders from several parts of the world on the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity in a session organized by a non-governmental organization.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Rituals involving the use of body parts of persons with albinism have been reportedly used by football teams, wrestlers and musicians. Similar practices were reported for the purpose of winning an election, obtaining a job or promotion, or for business success.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Given the specific risks to which human rights defenders working in the areas of housing, land, eviction or gentrification are exposed, the Rapporteur aims to support the call for enhanced guarantees for the essential work that they carry out.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- On 26 March 2014, Special Rapporteurs issued a press statement when the local government of Da Nang, Viet Nam, decided to expropriate the land used by Con Dau village for housing and agriculture, which appeared to be a clear case of land grabbing for the benefit of private entrepreneurs. Con Dau was built by many generations of residents who had shaped their culture through the cultivation of rice and church activities. The parish cemetery, a national cultural heritage site, has been demolished and removed to a remote area.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- In the Central African Republic, armed clashes escalated in 2014, with Christians and Muslims launching reprisal attacks against each other in a country that had rarely before experienced such sectarian violence. In March 2014, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide described the abuses as crimes against humanity and stated that Muslims were being deliberately and systematically targeted by the anti-balaka militias and by mobs of civilians in Bangui and in the countryside. He had warned in November 2013 of the risk of genocide.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Some attacks may be opportunistic and take place in the context of wider political or social unrest where the normal functioning of law and order has broken down. Following her visit to Ukraine in April 2014, the Special Rapporteur highlighted an escalation of attacks against Roma in the context of ongoing unrest in the eastern and southern regions. In one incident, over 20 men in Slavyansk had entered Roma houses and beaten Roma, demanding money and valuables. Some Roma had been injured and others had reportedly left the region in fear of attack.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- To date, the present Special Rapporteur and the previous mandate holder together sent a total of 26 communications to Member States jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, addressing situations whereby minority rights defenders were targeted because of their work. Some of them suffered reprisals, arrest and detention, as well as expulsion, in connection with their human rights activities. The Special Rapporteur raises her deep concerns about cases of reprisals against minority rights defenders, and urges minority activists to inform her Office whenever any intimidation or reprisal occurs in connection with their work, so that appropriate action can be taken.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Hate speech and incitement to hatred against minorities in the media 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Social media platforms have also been used to disseminate hate speech content against groups, which has fuelled intercommunal tensions and led, in some cases, to violent clashes among communities. Following a country visit in July 2014, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar expressed her concern over the spread of misinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence, discrimination and hostility in the media and Internet, particularly targeted against Muslim communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Hate speech and incitement to hatred against minorities in the media 2015, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- In April 2014, the International Federation of Journalists adopted the "Brussels Declaration" to combat incitement to hate and violence through media. The Declaration made recommendations to journalists and their unions aimed at upholding the principles and ethics of responsible journalism, including denouncing incitement to hatred whenever identified, ensuring knowledge of codes and guidelines by media workers, promoting education and training of journalists as well as encouraging diversity in media outlets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Hate speech and incitement to hatred against minorities in the media 2015, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- The Panzagar Movement ("flower speech campaign") in Myanmar was initiated in April 2014 by a Burmese blogger and human rights activist concerned by hate speech against Muslim citizens in social media. The Movement was launched under the slogan "Let's moderate our speech to prevent hatred among human beings" and is actively engaged in social networks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Hate speech and incitement to hatred against minorities in the media 2015, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Norikoe Net is a Japan-based group working to overcome hate speech and racism, often targeted against Koreans, in Japan. The group joined forces with others to collectively counter racism and hate speech by organizing anti-hate speech events and protests and pushing for the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation in Japan.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Media can also contribute to understanding and reconciliation. For example, the Panzagar (flower speech) campaign was launched by activists in 2014 to counter hate speech against Muslims which had become common in the Myanmar media.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The communications reports also reveal acts of harassment, intimidation, violence and sexual abuse, including: threats against activists and lawyers who represent religious minorities; attempts at forcible conversion or recantation under threat of death; threats, interrogation, abduction and kidnapping; deportation, expulsion, disappearances and death threats; forced labour and torture in order to obtain false confessions; searches and raids of homes, and confiscation of property; hate-motivated attacks on property; and mob violence, suicide bombings and execution.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Some projects may evoke broader human rights concerns, such as the protection of the right of individuals to freedom of expression and those of human rights defenders. For example, there have been an unfortunate number of reports of the lives of civil society stakeholders being threatened when they voiced concerns for human rights in relation to multilateral development cooperation activities. Within the human rights framework, partner States are required to create an enabling environment for active and informed participation and the protection of human rights defenders. It is also important to recall that a funding State is responsible in the context of its assistance to a beneficiary State when an internationally wrongful act has been carried out by the beneficiary State if the funding State provides such cooperation with knowledge of the circumstances and if the act would have been deemed wrongful if committed by the funding State.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Protection of journalists and press freedom 2010, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Emergency or national security laws are also often used to justify restrictions on citizen journalists' expression of views or dissemination of information through the Internet, often on the basis of protecting vaguely defined national interests or public order. For example, on 27 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Chairperson of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, sent an urgent appeal to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic regarding the arrest of a person in relation to articles which he distributed by e-mail, mainly from the Akhbar al-Sharq Internet site (www.thisissyria.net). The Syrian authorities were quoted as saying that material on the site is "detrimental to the reputation and security of the nation" and "full of ideas and views opposed to the system of Government in Syria".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of journalists and press freedom 2010, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- In other cases, laws or decrees that explicitly regulate online expression have been adopted and used to restrict the peaceful expression of opinion and ideas. For example, on 17 May 2010, at the conclusion of his fact-finding mission to the Republic of Korea, the Special Rapporteur issued a press statement in which he expressed concerns regarding Internet-specific legislation, in particular the Framework Act on Telecommunications and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. The Special Rapporteur noted that the former was used as the basis for arresting a blogger for posting online articles which were critical of the Government's economic policy in the context of the financial crisis, while the latter has been used to delete online posts and to sentence or fine individuals who initiated online campaigns for a consumer boycott.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Inadequate legal standards increase the risk of individuals being exposed to violation of their human rights, including the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression. They also have an adverse impact on certain groups of individuals - for example, members of certain political parties, trade unionists or national, ethnic and linguistic minorities - who may be more vulnerable to State communications surveillance. Without strong legal protections in place, journalists, human rights defenders and political activists risk being subjected to arbitrary surveillance activities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom of expression 2014, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In the Republic of Korea, high school students have promoted a major social mobilization against authoritarian practices within the education system. As a result of the public debate generated by the students, in January 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Council adopted a students' rights ordinance ensuring, inter alia, the right of students to protest, a ban on corporal punishment, the elimination of mandatory participation in religious activities and the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and pregnant students against discrimination. Action for Youth Rights of Korea, an association established by Korean students in the context of this mobilization, continues to promote student activism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Second, "citizen journalists" and bloggers and other media "non-professionals" engage in independent reporting and disseminate their findings through a wide variety of media, from print and broadcast to social media and other online platforms. They frequently work in ways similar or identical to, or even more rigorous than, the work of traditional journalists. Some States have adopted rules that provide important protection for them. For example, the Irish High Court, in Cornec v. Morrice and Ors, found that bloggers might claim source protection because they could constitute an "organ of public opinion" and because the right to influence public opinion would be jeopardized if they were forced to disclose their sources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Contemporary challenges to freedom of expression 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- One of the gravest and most concerning tools against reporting involves the use of counter-terrorism laws to restrict and penalize reporters. The reliance on counter-terrorism serves as a catch-all to throttle the flow of information and justify the detention of journalists, bloggers and others working in the media. In Australia, the Border Force Act of 2015 allegedly has the effect of criminalizing reporting on the detention conditions in immigration detention facilities. Ethiopia reportedly relied on its Criminal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009 to detain journalists and bloggers with the "Zone 9" collective on the grounds of "working with foreign human rights organizations and inciting violence through social media to create instability in the country", when in fact they were working for independent online media. Turkish authorities have allegedly used anti-terrorism laws to detain journalists and target academics. In 2014, Nigeria was also criticized for threatening and harassing nearly a dozen independent newspapers under the guise of fighting terrorism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Contemporary challenges to freedom of expression 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly detained journalists and bloggers on murky charges pertaining to espionage or "conspiracy against national security" - problems exacerbated by the closed nature of legal proceedings against those detained. In Germany, while the Government swiftly and correctly reversed course, two online journalists were investigated for reporting on government surveillance practices on the grounds of protecting the public prosecutor's ability to pursue cases against extremism. A presidential decree in Ukraine imposed a one-year ban on 41 foreign journalists and bloggers who were said to pose a threat to the country's national interests and sovereignty. Indonesia detained journalists reporting on the situation in West Papua, charging them with misuse of their visas and attempted treason.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph