ISHR calls for the unanimous renewal of the UN mandate on human rights defenders

During the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders at the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, ISHR commended Mary Lawlor for her commitment to protecting defenders throughout her tenure. 

In a statement, ISHR acknowledged her report – Defending dignity and claiming rights: human rights defenders hold firm to universal values as others desert them -, which highlights the impact of the democratic decline on the legal protection, physical and digital security, and funding of defenders’ activities. 

The report findings as well as its proposed mitigation measures and recommendations for a system facing financial and political crises confirms the outcomes of the survey undertaken by ISHR. 

Human rights defenders are exposed to attacks from State and non-State actors due to their work ‘to promote, protect or strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.’ 

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders is essential for the protection of defenders as it enables the mandate holder to: 

1. Monitor the situation of human rights defenders by meticulously collecting information on violations of their rights.
2. Raise awareness about cases of defenders under threat and call on States to respect their international commitments.
3. Regularly present reports, analyses and recommendations on the situation of human rights defenders around the world to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly.

Considering the critical role of the mandate, ISHR used the opportunity to report the detention of Moussa Tchangari in Niger, Hugues Comlan Sossoukpe in Benin, the restrictions on freedom of expression in Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Togo, and the reprisals on defenders from Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo after their participation in the session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 

Lastly, the ISHR statement called on the new Special Rapporteur to continue collaborating with regional human rights protection mechanisms and the mandate holders. 

Mary Lawlor closed her presentation by recognising the work and commending the perseverance of human rights defenders. She said, their work, comprising both dogged, unrelenting struggles and victories’ serves to ‘lay the foundations for a more just and equal word for future generations’.