Statement of the WHRD International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders Day
Statementof the WHRD International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders Day
“Everyone has the right, individuallyand in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection andrealization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national andinternational levels.” –Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organsof Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights andFundamental Freedoms [“The Declaration on human rights defenders”] (Article 1).
“Women Human Rights Defenders are moreat risk of suffering certain forms of violence and other violations, prejudice,exclusion, and repudiation than their male counterparts.” – UN Special Rapporteur onthe Situation of Human Rights Defenders, 2010 Annual Report to the GeneralAssembly.
On the occasion of November 29th, Women Human RightsDefenders Day, the Women Human RightsDefenders International Coalition stands in solidarity with thehundreds of thousands of women activists around the world who – with exemplarycourage, determination, and strength, uphold women’s human rights, the rightsof communities, and of the environment
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition isa resource and advocacy network for the protection and support of women humanrights defenders (WHRDs) worldwide. An international initiative created out ofthe international campaign on WHRDs launched in 2005, the Coalition callsattention to the recognition of WHRDs. Their gender or the nature of their workhas made them the subject of attacks, requiring gender‐sensitive mechanisms fortheir protection and support. The Coalition involves women activists as well asall people who defend women's rights and lesbian, gay, bi‐sexual, andtransgender (LGBT) defenders and groups committed to the advancement of women'shuman rights and sexual rights
The Coalition affirms the great value of the work of WHRDs:the struggle to defend human rights, to cultivate peace and to achievemeaningful gender and social justice. It recognizes the different contexts inwhich WHRDs work and the breadth of the challenges they face. It is proud tosupport the diverse contributions of WHRDs from across the globe, and it isinspired by the innovation, creativity and adaptability with which they aretransforming their communities every day
Whether they focus on women’s human rights or other rightsissues, WHRDs are subjected to arbitrary imprisonment, torture, forceddisappearances, death threats, violations of privacy, sexual violence, namecalling and other threats to their credibility, closures of their organizationsand a host of other violations because of what they do, in defense of humanrights, and who they are as women challenging gender norms. Many WHRDs havebeen displaced or have lost their lives because of their work. The Coalitionlaments the severe violence WHRDs have faced and seeks to honour the memory ofthose no longer with us through our solidarity and commitment to Defend WomenDefending Rights.
The alarming increase in violence against WHRDs andviolations of their rights demonstrates the importance of strengtheningprotection mechanisms and support networks for WHRDs across the globe. Aswomen’s role in the frontline of human rights defense is more visible, so arethe contexts in which violence against WHRDs and violations of their rightstake place. Fundamentalisms, militarism and conflict, globalization andneoliberalisms, crises of democracy and governance, patriarchy andheteronormativity are the key contexts that often overlap, as shown in theCoalition’s GlobalReport on the Situation of Women Human Rights Defenders
The Coalition calls on all stakeholders and duty bearers touphold their national, regional and international human rights commitments toensure the promotion and protection of the rights of WHRDs regardless of theirrace, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, status, age, caste, politicalopinion, sexual orientation and gender identity as well as on other grounds orcontexts.
For more information about the WHRD International Coalition,our work and coalition members please visit: http://defendingwomen‐defendingrights.org.