As protests continue across Peru and at least 50 lie dead, States have called on Peru to stop the use of excessive force to quell unrest and to respect the rights of those exercising fundamental freedoms.
ISHR and RFK call on the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, Peru, to ensure the mining company ‘Yanococha’ is held accountable for violating the human rights of Elmer Campos and other defenders, attacked during a protest.
Faced with the appropriation of their name, Peruvian NGO Madres en Acción is pushing back, filing a legal action to recover it. In an amicus brief in support of the action, ISHR argues that trademark law is being used to attack defenders and this must stop.
Human rights defenders keep being killed because those responsible are rarely held accountable, the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders told the Human Rights Council today. Rafts of recommendations exist on how to protect defenders. What's needed is that states show the political will to do so.
Luisa Rios has been working for several years with environmental defenders in Peru. In the past, Luisa helped an indigenous leader capture the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, in order to draw attention to the adverse impacts of investment projects on people in isolation.
In this video, Luisa talks about her current role as the Office Director for the Madre Dios branch of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA), an organisation that leads a free legal clinic that offers legal assistance and defense to forest users and environmental defenders in the region.
Michelle Bachelet addressed the General Assembly for the second year in her capacity as High Commissioner for Human Rights on 15 October 2019. Following calls at last year’s interactive dialogue for the reinstatement of the High Commissioner’s yearly report for the General Assembly, this year Bachelet presented her latest report (A/74/36) before a packed Third Committee.
ISHR and Amnesty International have called on the Human Rights Council President to push for responses where States have failed to reply to UN experts' requests for information on alleged human rights violations, including reprisals.
ISHR has called on the Human Rights Council President to urge 55 States to respond to communications by UN experts regarding alleged human rights violations.
The UN Working Group on business and human rights, together with States, must consider the particular threats and attacks on defenders working on rights related to land and environment, ISHR and a group of environmental defenders told the Human Rights Council. ISHR also emphasised that States providing diplomatic support to business should also require a clear commitment to respect, consult and protect defenders.
ISHR's flagship Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme begins on Monday 11 June, with 14 inspiring human rights defenders from around the globe travelling to Geneva to learn about strategic engagement with the UN mechanisms for even greater impact on the ground.
