Joint Statement to all Member States of the United Nations General Assembly: Support the draft resolution on recognizing the role of human rights defenders and the need for their protection

24 November 2015

Excellencies,

We write toyou as a group of human rights defenders and civil society organizationslocated across the world working at national, regional and internationallevels. We write in regard to the draft resolution entitled ”Recognizingthe role of human rights defenders and the need for their protection“ currently being advanced in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee,and due to be adopted on Wednesday 25 November 2015.

We urge yourgovernment to support the abovementioned resolution and to reject amendments,tabled by the African Group, China and Iran, designed to weaken the text.[1]

Among otherthings, the proposed amendments remove references to the legitimacy of the workof human rights defenders, delete or weaken language regarding the need fortheir protection, and delete whole paragraphs related to the need to combatimpunity for violations and abuses against defenders and the need to ensureadequate procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings. A call for the releaseof defenders detained or imprisoned in violation of international human rightslaw, for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, is also proposedfor deletion. In addition, the amendments introduce notions that States shouldonly support and enable their work 'as appropriate', rather than in accordancewith the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders and other obligations arising under international human rights law.

Human rightsdefenders make a vital contribution to the promotion and respect for humanrights, democratic processes, securing and maintaining peace and security, andadvancing development in our countries. However, in doing this work, defendersoften face a range of violations and abuses at the hands of State and non-Stateactors. States must acknowledge the role of defenders and the specific risksthey face, and commit to ensuring their protection.

Fifteen yearsago, all States agreed to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,including State obligations to protect all human rights defenders working onall human rights. This commitment has been reiterated and built upon insubsequent General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions. We aretherefore extremely concerned to hear that the abovementioned delegations haveobjected to several core elements of the draft resolution.

Based onconsultations with over 500 defenders from 111 States, the Special Rapporteuron Human Rights Defenders found that in the vast majority of States thesituation for human rights defenders is deteriorating in law and in practice.He concluded that a lack of awareness regarding their vital and legitimatework, combined with a lack of political commitment and weak institutionalarrangements for their protection, is placing them, their organisations andfamilies at elevated risk.[2]

The resolutionas drafted reflects a number of these findings and makes a series ofrecommendations for States and other actors. Importantly, this year’s textincludes a key focus on the implementation of the resolution itself. This willhopefully prompt States and other actors to move beyond rhetoric in addressingthe challenges faced by human rights defenders and take action to ensure theimplementation of the calls in the resolution.

We urge all States to live up to their human rights commitments bysupporting this resolution, by rejecting amendments designed to weaken it, andby taking concrete steps to protect human rights defenders.

Sincerely,

AcciónSolidaria on HIV/Aids

ActionCanada for Sexual Health and Rights

ActionTrans-Crime Uganda

ActionAidInternational

ADCMemorial

AfricanCentre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies

AlkaramaFoundation

Alliancefor Democracy in Laos

AmnestyInternational

AnalyticalCenter for Interethnic Cooperation and Consultations

ARTICLE 19

AsiaPacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

Asian Forumfor Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

Asian LegalResource Centre

AssistanceMission for Africa (AMA)

Association desVictimes Parents et Amis du 28 Septembre 2009 (AVIPA)

Associationfor the Prevention of Torture (APT)

Associationfor Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

Associationof World Citizens

AssociationUMDPL

BahrainCentre for human rights

BalanceMexico

BelarusWatch

BritishHumanist Association

Brot fürdie Welt

Business& Human Rights Resource Centre

CairoInstitute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

CambodianCenter for Human Rights

CELS

Center forCivil Liberties

Center forInquiry

Centre forCivil and Political Rights

Centre forCivil Liberties

Centre forHuman Rights and Development

Centre forthe Development of Democracy and Human Rights

Child RightsConnect (formerly Le Groupe des ONG pour la Convention Relative aux Droits deL'Enfant)

ChildRights International Network

CIVICUS

CivilRights Defenders

CIVILIS HumanRights

CoalitionIvoirienne des Défenseurs des Droits Humains

Comité de ONG de América Latina y el Caribe -CoNGO- sobre laCondición de la Mujer -CSW-

Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario Mx

Desaparecidos- Philippines

DiasporaAction Australia

EarthRightsInternational

EgyptianInitiative for Personal Rights

EgyptianOrganization for Human Rights

EqualityMyanmar

Equidad de Género, Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia

FIDH,within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders

Fortress ofHope Africa

FoundationHELP

Freedom House

Frente de Mujeres Defensoras de la Pachamama - Ecuador

Front Line Defenders

Fundacion Arcoiris por el Respeto a la Diversidad Sexual

Geneva forHuman Rights

GlobalCentre for the Responsibility to Protect

GlobalHuman Rights Group

GlobalInitiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

GlobalJustice Center

GreenAdvocates

Gulf Centerfor Human Rights

Health andHuman Rights Info

HelsinikiCitizens' Assembly - Vanadzor

HelsinkiCommittee for Human Rights in Serbia

HelsinkiCommittee of Armenia

HRM"Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan"

HumanRights Campaign in China

HumanRights Concern - Eritrea

HumanRights Defenders Alert - India

HumanRights House Foundation (HRHF)

HumanRights Information Center

HumanRights Watch (HRW)

humanrights.ch

Hustisya –Philippines

IDSN

InternationalCenter for Justice and Human Rights

InternationalCenter for Not-for-Profit Law

InternationalCommission of Jurists Victoria

InternationalCouncil of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO)

InternationalHelsinki Association for Human Rights

InternationalJustice Project

InternationalJustice Resource Center

InternationalMovement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR)

InternationalPartnership for Human Rights

InternationalPlatform against Impunity

InternationalRefugee Rights Initiative

InternationalRehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)

InternationalService for Human Rights

InternationalWomen's Development Agency

InternationalWomen's Health Coalition

InternationalWomen's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific)

InternationalYouth Human Rights Movement (YHRM)

Ipas

JacobBlaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights

JustAssociates (JASS)

Justice andPeace Netherlands

JusticeConnect

KarapatanAlliance for the Advancement for People's Rights - Philippines

LawyersCommittee for Human Rights (YUCOM)

Legal-informationalCentre for NGOs - Slovenia

LegalResources Centre (LRC)

LGBT HumanRights NASH MIR Center

Ligue desÉlecteurs - DRC

Loretto Community

MalaysianPhysicians for Social Responsibility

MOLI -Burundi

MoscowHelsinki Group

Moscowregional Public Charity Foundation "Social Partnership"

NationalAssociation of Community Legal Centres - Australia

Nazra forFeminist Studies

NetherlandsHelsinki Committee

NorwegianHuman Rights Fund (NHRF)

OutRightAction International

PeaceBrigades International

People'sWatch

Promo LEX

ProtectionInternational

PublicFoundation Notabene

PublicInformation and Need of Knowledge NGO

PublicInterest Advocacy Centre

PublicUnion of Democracy and Human Rights Resource Centre

PublicVerdict Foundation

QueenslandAssociation of Independent Legal Services Inc

RefugeeCouncil of Australia

Sayoni

SexualityPolicy Watch

Society ofEx-detainees Against Detention and Arrests - Philippines

SolidarityMovement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE)

Sri LankaBrief

SwissHelsinki Committee

TanggolBayi (Defend Women) - Philippines

The BarysZvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House

The CzechHelsinki Committee

TheInternational Humanist and Ethical Union

The KosovaRehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT)

TheNorwegian Human Rights Fund

The TibetBureau

TRIAL(Track Impunity Always)

Unión Latinoamericana de Mujeres ULAM

United Nations Association - UK

UnrepresentedNations and Peoples Organisation

UrgentAction Fund for Women's Human Rights

WestAfrican Human Rights Defenders Network

WorldFederalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP)

Women PeaceNetwork-Arakan

Women Won'tWait Campaign

Women'sGlobal Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Women'sInternational League for Peace and Freedom

Women'sResource Center

WorldMovement for Democracy

WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory forthe Protectionof Human Rights Defenders

WorldUyghur Congress

YemenOrganization for Defending Rights & Democratic Freedoms

ZimbabweLawyers for Human Rights

[1] Theamendments are contained in UN documents A/C.3/70/L.69 - L.107, available here.

[2] Report of the SpecialRapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders to the General Assembly,available here.