JOINT STATEMENT ON THE EU CONCLUSIONS ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

The undersigned organisations stress the importance ofreinforced efforts towards the full implementation of the Guidelines. In orderto facilitate the fulfilment of the EU renewed commitment, we make thefollowing recommendations for concrete actions to be taken by the EU and itsMember States at field and capital levels, and we encourage the Council of theEU to include these recommendations in the soon-to-be revised EU Action Plan onHuman Rights and Democracy:

Coherent EU policy on HRDs:

- Implement the EU Guidelines on HRDs fully and genuinelyin all third countries, regardless of political, economic or otherconsiderations;

- Actively support HRDs through a flexible combinationof concrete actions and public diplomacy, on the basis of effectiveconsultation with concerned HRDs;

- Clearly communicate human rights priorities of EUcountry strategies to local HRDs to facilitate their action;

- Provide systematic feedback to HRDs, civil society andthe public on EU and Member States’ actions on HRDs, encouraging meaningfulpublic debate on how to reinforce their vital efforts;

- Improve inter-institutional cooperation on HRDs bysetting up a ‘filter group’ made of focal points, from the European Parliament,the European External Action Service and the European Commission, to meetregularly, review and follow-up individual cases, and prepare future actions inclose cooperation with HRDs liaison officers in the field.

Support to all HRDs, including vulnerable andmarginalized HRDs, women HRDs and those operating in remote areas:

- Use all means available to the EU and its MemberStates, including both diplomacy and concrete actions such as trialobservation, as well as funding, visibility and political backing, to givemeaningful support to HRDs.

- Regularly and consistently use political and humanrights dialogues as well as other channels of communication to remind thirdcountries of their duty to protect HRDs, and ensure involvement of HRDs inthese processes.

- Adopt a proactive approach towards vulnerable groupsof HRDs, women HRDs and defenders operating in remote areas, by coordinatingamong EU missions the joint and individual responsibility to cover differentgeographical areas in the third country and to engage with diverse HRDs workingnot only on civil, political, but also on economic, social and cultural rights.EU Delegations and Member State missions must carry out regular visits outsidelarge urban centres and strive to meet with grass-roots and community-basedHRDs, exchange information on the human rights situation, meet the protectionneeds of HRDs and provide visibility for their essential work to promote andprotect human rights.

Safe and enabling environment:

- Promote and implement EU and Member State publicinformation campaigns in third countries to increase the visibility andlegitimacy of the work of HRDs, focusing in particular on the most vulnerablegroups;

- Accompany and support efforts of civil societyorganisations in their demands towards government authorities to abrogaterestrictive laws and norms, to adopt and/or strengthen national public policiesand mechanisms for the protection of HRDs, and to fight against impunity.

Raising awareness about the Guidelines:

- Set up indicators and benchmarks to encourage concreteaction on the Guidelines by all Member State diplomatic missions and EU Delegations;

- Translate the Guidelines on HRDs into local languagesand disseminate them among civil society, including different ethnic minoritygroups and indigenous communities;

- Organise yearly regional workshops with theparticipation of civil society to exchange experiences and lessons learned, andbuild the capacity of HRDs, EU and Member States diplomatic staff, inparticular the human rights focal points and liaison officers for HRDs.

We look forward to continuing our exchange with the EUand its Member States and remain engaged to support the work of HRDs in theircrucial role of promoting and protecting human rights worldwide.

Brussels, 30 June 2014

Amnesty International

Protection International

Frontline Defenders

Peace BrigadesInternational

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT)