World summit brings surge of new commitments to protect human rights defenders

​

Human rights defenders from across allcorners of the world gathered this week in Paris for the Human Rights DefendersWorld Summit, to develop a plan of action for how to protect and promote thework of activists fighting for rights, 20 years on from the first UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders.

After three days of discussions and strategydevelopment spanning regional and global issues, environmental rights andwomen’s human rights defenders and the increasing attacks on human rightsdefenders everywhere, the momentum culminated in the presentation of a landmarkaction plan which will be presented to the UN in December.

UN High Commissioner for Human RightsMichelle Bachelet, who spoke at the opening ceremony said: "What humanrights defenders teach us is that all of us can stand up for our rights and forthe rights of others, in our neighborhoods, in our countries and all over theworld. We can change the world.”

The Summit discussed calls on Governments, corporations,international financial institutions, donors and others, including the adoptionof national governmental action plans, implementation of legislation to legallyuphold the UN declaration, protecting defenders as a priority in foreign policyand prioritizing the protection and work of women human rights defenders,LGBT+, indigenous rights defenders and other marginalized defenders.

Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’sSecretary General, said: “The level of danger facing activists worldwide hasreached crisis point. Every day ordinary people are threatened, tortured,imprisoned and killed for what they fight for, believe in or simply for whothey are. Now is the time to act and tackle the global surge in repression ofhuman rights defenders.”

The closing ceremony took place at the Palaisde Chaillot, Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed 70 years ago. The150 defenders gathered together to set out the Action Plan and pay tribute tothe men and women who work tirelessly to defend human rights around the world.

Among those in attendance over the last threedays were AliceMogwe, Secretary General of International Federation for Human Rights and theDirector of Botswana Ditshwanelo; Pulitzer Prize-winningjournalist Matthew Caruana Galizia,who is calling for justice after his mother, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was assassinated one yearago in Malta; Anielle Franco, who is bravely campaigning on behalfof her sister, Marielle Franco, a Brazilian activist and elected councillor whowas shot dead in her car seven months ago.

Hina Jilani, President of OMCT, founder of the Human Rights Commissionof Pakistan, and the first UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of humanrights defenders said: “States have never given us space, it is because ofhuman rights defenders that there is space for civil society. Seeing you all here engaged in defendinghuman rights., I am not too pessimistic. We have never been as global as amovement. But we have to be clear to states: you need to live up to thechallenge and speak out for defenders. Human rights don’t come for free.”

The 1998 UN Declaration onHuman Rights Defenders

In 1998, governments adopted the Declarationon Human Rights Defenders to acknowledge the key role ofhuman rights defenders. Despite progress in some areas, many governments arecontinuing to fall short of their commitments20 years on from the first Summit and the global context in which human rightsdefenders operate in has become increasingly challenging. Democratic values areunder threat and systemic corruption, extreme inequality and discrimination,religious fundamentalism and extremist policies are all on the rise. Alongsidethis, we have seen a concerted effort to undermine, discredit and kill humanrights defenders. In2017, at least 312 human rights defenders were assassinated, twice as many asin 2015,almost all with impunity for the perpetrators. The Action Plan hopesto tackle these injustices and support Human Rights Defenders to continue theircritical work in a safe environment.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The Human Rights Defenders World Summit 2018
TheHuman Rights Defenders World Summit 2018 will bring together a diverse group of150 human rights defenders from around the world for three days of meetings,panel discussions, networking and workshopping. These activists, who are at theforefront of struggles for social, political and environmental changes in theircountries, will have the opportunity to connect and engage with regional andinternational human rights organizations, global government leaders, the UnitedNations, donors and the private sector. The first Human Rights Defenders WorldSummit took place 20 years ago in 1998 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris,the same location where this year’s closing ceremony will be held.

About the organizations involved:

AmnestyInternational
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than seven million peoplewho take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where humanrights are enjoyed by all. We are funded by members and people like you. We areindependent of any political ideology, economic interest or religion.

Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)
AWID isa global feminist organisation with over 5,000 individual and institutionalmembers from 164 countries. We support feminist, women’s rights and genderjustice movements to thrive, to be a driving force in challenging systems ofoppression, and to co-create feminist realities.

FIDH
FIDH (InternationalFederation for Human Rights) is an international human rights NGO federating184 organisations from 112 countries. Since 1922, FIDH has been defending allcivil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.

Front Line Defenders
FrontLine Defenders works for the protection, security and well-being of humanrights defenders at risk around the world, providing grants, training andcapacity building in physical and digital protection, advocacy andcampaigning/visibility for HRDs.

International Service for Human Rights
The InternationalService for Human Rights is an independent, non-governmental organisationdedicated to promoting and protecting human rights. We achieve this bysupporting human rights defenders, strengthening human rights systems, andleading and participating in coalitions for human rights change.

OMCT
TheWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is the world’s largest coalition ofnon-governmental organisations fighting against arbitrary detention, torture,summary and extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and other forms ofviolence and provides a comprehensive system of support and protection for human rightsdefenders.

ProtectDefenders.EU
ProtectDefenders.euis the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism, established to protectdefenders at high risk and facing the most difficult situations worldwide. Ledby a consortium of 12 NGOs active in the field of human rights.

Reporters Without Borders
ReportersWithout Borders, or Reporters Sans Frontières, is an international non-profit,non-governmental organization based in Paris, France, that conducts politicaladvocacy on issues relating to freedom of information and freedom of the press. https://hrdworldsummit.org/