Celebrating 25 years of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders

Human rights defenders are people who are making the world a better and fairer place by promoting and protecting human rights. They are the eyes, ears and voices of our communities. As informed social justice leaders, they are essential partners in our shared journey towards equality, justice and peace on a healthy planet.

“Human rights defenders are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They work peacefully for the rights of others and help build civil and just societies based on the rule of law.”

Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs

In some countries, the government or powerful corporate interests harass or try to discredit people who defend human rights, lock them out of public discussions and silence their voices. Human rights defenders are attacked, imprisoned or even killed by those in power. For a more complete panorama of the threats and obstacles human rights defenders face, check out Front Line Defenders Global Analysis 2022. 

The elaboration of the Declaration on human rights defenders began in 1984 and ended following sustained advocacy by civil society and negotiations among State delegations with its adoption 14 years later on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1998. It was adopted by consensus by all member states of the UN General Assembly.

The need for a Declaration on Human Rights Defenders came after the Commission on Human Rights (now replaced by the UN Human Rights Council) began to become increasingly vocal in the 1980s about threats, reprisals and attacks against individuals who worked to defend human rights.

Twenty years after the adoption of the Declaration, human rights defenders from across the globe met in Paris for the Human Rights Defenders World Summit. The Summit sought to commemorate the essential role of HRDs, reaffirm the Declaration, provide a platform for HRDs to put forward their solutions based on their lived realities, and identify strategies for campaigns and advocacy. The outcome document of the Summit was a call for action, including to take stock of the developments in normative frameworks related to the protection of defenders since 1998 and further develop and deepen the norms contained in the HRD Declaration with the view to afford enhanced protection.