‘Human rights defender’ is a title used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote, or protect, human rights. Human rights defenders can act to address any human right, or rights, issues on behalf of individuals or groups. Defenders seek to promote and protect civil and political rights as well as the broader promotion, protection, and realisation of economic, social, and cultural rights.
Human rights defenders address many human rights concerns, including summary executions, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, discrimination, forced evictions, access to health care, and pollution. Defenders actively support human rights including the right to life, food and water, healthcare, housing, nationality, education, freedom of movement and non-discrimination. Defenders sometimes address the rights of categories of persons, such as those of women and children, refugees and internally-displaced persons, and national, linguistic or sexual minorities.
The majority of defenders work at local or national levels to support respect for human rights within their own communities and countries. Their main counterparts are local authorities charged with ensuring respect for human rights. Some defenders also act at regional or international levels. Defenders may monitor a regional or worldwide human rights situation and submit information to regional or international human rights mechanisms, including other special rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council and treaty bodies.
The work of human rights defenders is often mixed with a focus on local and national human rights issues. They also sustain contact with regional and international mechanisms which can support them in improving human rights in their countries.
Resources
OSCE ODIHR, Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, (Warsaw: 2014)