(Geneva) The Human Rights Council should reiterate its call on States to develop and implement specific laws and policies in this regard to recognise and protect human rights defenders, the International Service for Human Rights said in a written submission to the Council’s 28th session. Based on legal research across all regions, together with regional consultations with over 150 human rights defenders the document sets out the need for States to enact specific laws to protect and support human rights defenders and to review and amend laws that restrict and criminalise their work.

(Geneva) The Human Rights Council should reiterate its call on States to develop and implement specific laws and policies in this regard to recognise and protect human rights defenders, the International Service for Human Rights said in a submission to the Council’s 28th session.

The written statement submitted to the UN’s peak human rights body is based on legal research across all regions, together with regional consultations with over 150 human rights defenders from more than 60 States. It sets out the need for States to enact specific laws to protect and support human rights defenders and to review and amend laws that restrict and criminalise their work, and contains recommendations in that regard.

During the consultations, human rights defenders identified key areas in which the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders is insufficiently implemented at national level, including lacking protection against stigmatisation, intimidation and attacks, inadequate protection from reprisals, failure to protect particularly vulnerable group of human rights defenders as well as severe shortcomings in the legal environment for human rights defenders.

Accordingly, ISHR’s written statement identifies the need for more political will to implement laws and policies to protect human rights defenders where they exist, as well as the need for and basic parameters of legal reform to better protect human rights defenders.

In light of the statement, ISHR urges the Human Rights Council to call upon States to:

• Develop, enact and implement a specific national law on the recognition and protection of human rights defenders.
• Enshrine the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly in laws or the constitution.
• Recognise and protect the right to access and communicate with human rights bodies and mechanisms.
• Adopt legislative provisions to prohibit and promote accountability for intimidation and reprisals.
• Mandate and resource a human rights defender focal point within the national human rights institution.
• Establish mechanisms to protect particular groups or professionals at risk due to their human rights work.
• Specifically criminalise attacks against human rights defenders.
• Facilitate the prompt, expeditious and inexpensive establishment of human rights organisations and other NGOs.
• Support the charitable status of, and confer charitable benefits on, human rights organisations, including those which undertake advocacy.
• Enshrine the right to access and disclose information relating to human rights.
• Enact or expand whistle-blower legislation to protect human rights related disclosures.
• Codify the right to refuse to violate human rights.
• Review and amend all laws and provisions which may restrict or hinder the work of human rights defenders.
• Decriminalise the establishment of, or participation in, unregistered associations.
• Safeguard the independence of NGOs.
• Decriminalise non-compliance with NGO registration or reporting requirements.
• Prohibit the de-registration of NGOs on vague grounds or grounds which do not accord with international human rights standards.
• Remove discriminatory restrictions on access to foreign funds and repeal requirements for NGOs receiving foreign funds to register as foreign agents.
• Repeal restrictions on the right to advocate in relation to all human rights for all persons.
• Decriminalise offences of defamation, libel, slander and similar offences.
• Decriminalise activities and the publication of materials that are prohibited on broad and vague grounds that are incompatible with international human rights standards.
• Repeal requirements as to the registration of journalists, including in order to cover protests or demonstrations, and safeguard the independence of journalists.
• Amend counter-terrorism laws to ensure compliance with international human rights standards, including the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
• Repeal authorisation requirements in relation to the conduct of peaceful protests and assemblies.
• Explicitly prohibit excessive use of force against protesters and assemblies.

Contact: Michael Ineichen, Human Rights Council Advocacy Director, [email protected] or + 41 78 827 77 86.