HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL & ALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Who is a Human Rights Defender?
‘Human Rights Defender’ is a term used to describe people who, individually or in association as a formal or informal group act to promote or protect human rights. A Human Rights Defenders is known above all by what he comes to defend through his actions and words (spoken and writen) and it is through a description of his actions and some of the contexts in which he works that the term can best be explained.
A. What do human rights defenders do?
1. Human rights for all
To be a human rights defender, a person can act to address any human right issue (or issues) on behalf of individuals or groups. Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
Human rights defenders address every human rights concern which can be as varied as, summary executions by authorities, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, female genital mutilation, discrimination, employment issues, forced evictions, access to health care, and toxic waste and its impact on the environment. Human Rights Defenders are seen active in defending human rights as diverse as the rights to life, to food and water, to the highest attainable standard of health, to adequate housing, to a name and a nationality, to education, to freedom of movement and to non-discrimination. They sometimes address the rights of specified categories of persons, like rights of the physically challenged persons or women’s rights, children’s rights, or the rights of indigenous persons, the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the rights of national, linguistic or sexual minorities.
2. Human rights everywhere
Human rights defenders are active all through the world in different fields. Thus even in conflict zones like Jammu & Kashmir particularly for displaced ethnic groups like Kashmiri Pandits, in states that are divided by internal armed conflict as well as States that are stable; in States that are non-democratic as well as those that have a strong democratic practice; in States that are developing economically as well as those that are classified as developed. They seek to promote and protect human rights in the context of a variety of challenges, including HIV/AIDS, development, migration, structural adjustment policies and political transition.
3. Local, national, regional and international action
The majority of human rights defenders work at the local or national level, supporting respect for human rights within their own communities and countries. In such situations, their main counterparts are local authorities charged with ensuring respect for human rights within a region or the country as a whole. Sometimes, the defenders restrict their activities to a particular area or expand to international level. They may monitor a regional or worldwide human rights situation and submit a detailed report to the regional or international human rights mechanisms. They may also liaison with special rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council and treaty bodies. The task of human rights defenders is mixed, with the focus being on local and national human rights issues.
4. Collecting and disseminating information on violations
Human rights defenders investigate, collate information and report on human rights violations. They may, for example, use lobbying strategies to bring their reports to the attention of the public and of key political and judicial officials with a view to ensuring that their investigative work is given consideration and that human rights violations are addressed. Most commonly, such work is conducted through human rights organizations like Indian Human Rights Council which periodically publish reports on their findings. However, information may also be gathered and reported by an individual focusing on one specific instance of human rights abuse.
5. Supporting victims of human rights violations
Mainly, the Human Rights Defenders focus all their activities in defending the human rights and supporting the victims of human rights violations. Investigating and reporting on violations can help end ongoing violations, prevent their repetition and assist victims in taking their cases to courts. Some human rights defenders provide professional legal advice and represent victims in the judicial process. Others provide victims with counselling and rehabilitation support.
6. Action to secure accountability and to end impunity
Several human rights defenders work to secure accountability for human rights legal standards. In its broadest sense, this might involve lobbying with the authorities and advocating greater efforts by the State to implement the international human rights obligations it has accepted by its ratification of international treaties.
In more specific instances, the human rights defenders may have to bear witness, either in a public forum (for example, a newspaper) or before a court or tribunal, to human rights violations that have already occurred in their knowledge. This is a valuable contribution by the defenders in securing justice on behalf of victims in specific cases of human rights violation. They play a great role in breaking patterns of impunity and thus preventing future violations. Quite a few defenders, frequently focus exclusively on ending impunity for violations under the banners like IHRC. They also work to strengthen the State’s capacity to prosecute perpetrators of violations, for example by providing human rights training for prosecutors, judges and the police.
7. Supporting better governance and government policy
Some human rights defenders focus on persuading a Government as a whole to fulfil its human rights obligations. Thus they may publicize information on the Government’s record of implementation of human rights standards as also monitoring the progress made. Some of them focus on good governance, advocating in support of democratization and an end to corruption and the abuse of power, and providing training to the masses on how to vote and why their participation in elections is important.
8. Contributing to the implementation of human rights treaties
Many international human rights treaties are in place but much is left to be desired about their implementation by the authorities. The defenders play a major role in sensitizing the authorities to implement these treatise under their domain. Today, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations help to establish housing, health care and sustainable income-generation projects for poor and marginalized communities. They offer training in essential skills and provide equipment such as computers to give communities improved access to information.
There are many groups who may not be acting under the Human Rights umbrella and calling them as human rights defenders. But they deserve special mention as their members may not even be considered as human rights activists and yet they render yeoman's service through their work in particular areas like health, housing or development etc. Indeed, many of these activities in support of human rights are described in general terms as development action but many of these activists are not even aware these are part of human rights’ promotion. Their work, as much as that of other human rights defenders, is central the idea of life with dignity and respect and in the process endeavor to achieve of human rights standards. They need to be recognized as human rights defenders and deserve the protection given to their activities by the Declaration on human rights defenders.
9. Human rights education and training
The human rights defenders are also engaged in equally important activities viz. human rights education. In some instances, education activities take the form of training for the application of human rights standards in the context of a professional activity, for example by judges, lawyers, police officers, soldiers or human rights monitors. In other instances, education may be broader and involve teaching about human rights in schools and universities or disseminating information on human rights standards to the general public or to vulnerable populations.
In summary, the gathering and dissemination of information, advocacy and the mobilization of public opinion are often the most common tools used by human rights defenders in their work. Further, they also provide information to empower or train others. They actively participate in the provision of the material means necessary to make human rights a reality – building shelter, providing food, strengthening development, etc. They work on democratic transformation in order to increase the participation of people in the decision-making that shapes their lives and to strengthen good governance. Many human rights defenders like Indian Human rights Council aver that human rights should be included in the course curriculum right from the primary and higher education system so that the young minds are initiated into the value system of human rights at the early age and are sensitized for the protection of human rights. They also contribute to the improvement of social, political and economic conditions, the reduction of social and political tensions, the building of peace, domestically and internationally, and the nurturing of national and international awareness of human rights.
B. Who can be a human rights defender?
Any person of any strata of the society irrespective of his education, social status or religious beliefs can take up the role of human rights defender. There is no specific definition of who is or who can be a human rights defender. The Declaration on human rights defenders refers to “individuals, groups and associations … contributing to … the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals”.
In accordance with this broad categorization, human rights defenders can be any person or group of persons working to promote human rights, ranging from intergovernmental organizations based in the world’s largest cities to individuals working within their local communities. Defenders can be of any gender, of varying ages, from any part of the world and from all sorts of professional or other backgrounds. In particular, it is important to note that human rights defenders are not only found within NGOs and intergovernmental organizations but might also, in some instances, be government officials, civil servants or members of the private sector.
1. Defending human rights through professional activities – paid or voluntary
The most obvious human rights defenders are those whose daily work specifically involves the promotion and protection of human rights, for example human rights monitors working with national human rights organizations, human rights ombudsmen or human rights lawyers.
However, what is most important in characterizing a person as a human rights defender is not the person’s title or the name of the organization he or she works for, but rather the human rights character of the work undertaken. It is not essential for a person to be known as a “human rights activist” or to work for an organization that includes “human rights” in its name in order to be a human rights defender. Similarly, the national and international staff of NGOs around the world working to address humanitarian concerns can typically be described as human rights defenders. People educating communities on HIV/AIDS, activists for the rights of indigenous peoples, environmental activists and volunteers working in development are also playing a crucial role as human rights defenders.
Many people work in a professional capacity as human rights defenders and are paid remuneration for the work they are doing. However, there are many others who work in a professional capacity as human rights defenders but who are volunteers and receive no remuneration. Typically, human rights organizations have very limited funding and the work provided by these volunteers is invaluable.
Many professionals do not engage themselves in exclusively human rights activities but can have occasional links with human rights. For example, lawyers working on commercial law issues may not often address human rights concerns and cannot automatically be described as human rights defenders. They can nevertheless act as defenders on some occasions by working on cases through which they contribute to the promotion or protection of human rights. Similarly, leaders of trade unions undertake numerous tasks, many of which bear no relation to human rights, but when they are working specifically to promote or protect the human rights of workers they can be described as human rights defenders. In the same way, journalists have a broad mandate to gather information and disseminate it to a public audience through print, radio or television media. In their general role, journalists are not human rights defenders. However, many journalists do act as defenders, for example when they report on human rights abuses and bear witness to acts that they have seen. Teachers who instruct their pupils in basic principles of human rights fulfill a similar role. Doctors and other medical professionals who treat and rehabilitate victims of human rights violations can also be viewed as human rights defenders in the context of such work; and doctors have special obligations by virtue of the Hippocratic Oath.
Those who contribute to assuring justice – judges, the police, lawyers and other key actors – often have a particular role to play and may come under considerable pressure to make decisions that are favourable to the State or other powerful interests, such as the leaders of organized crime. Where these actors in the judicial process make a special effort to ensure access to fair and impartial justice, and thereby to guarantee the related human rights of victims, they can be said to be acting as human rights defenders.
A similar “special effort” qualification can be applied to other professions or forms of employment that bear no obvious relation to human rights. The individuals who hold these jobs may sometimes choose to conduct their work in a way that offers specific support to human rights. For example, some architects choose to design their construction projects in a way that takes into consideration relevant human rights like the right to adequate (temporary) housing for the people who will work on the project, or the rights of children to be consulted on the design, if the building is of particular relevance to them.
2. Defending human rights in a non-professional context
Many people act as human rights defenders outside any professional or employment context. For example, a student who organizes other students to campaign for an end to torture in prisons could be described as a human rights defender. An inhabitant of a rural community who coordinates a demonstration by members of the community against environmental degradation of their farmland by factory waste could also be described as a human rights defender. A politician who takes a stand against endemic corruption within a Government is a human rights defender for his or her action to promote and protect good governance and certain rights that are threatened by such corruption. Witnesses in court cases to prosecute the perpetrators of human rights abuses, and witnesses who provide information to international human rights bodies or domestic courts and tribunals to help them address violations, are also considered to be human rights defenders in the context of those actions.
People all over the world strive for the realization of human rights according to their circumstances and in their own way. The names of some human rights defenders are internationally recognized, but the majority of defenders remain unknown. Whether an individual works as a local government official, a policeman upholding the law or an entertainer using his or her position to highlight injustices, all can play a role in the advancement of human rights. The key is to look at how such people act to support human rights and, in some instances, to see whether a “special effort” is made.
Clearly, it is impossible to catalogue the huge variety of contexts in which human rights defenders are active. However, common to most defenders are a commitment to helping others, a commitment to international human rights standards, a belief in equality and in non-discrimination, determination and, in many instances, tremendous courage.
C. Is there a qualification for being called as human rights defenders?
No “qualification” is required to be a human rights defender, and the Declaration on human rights defenders makes clear, that we can all be defenders of human rights if we choose to be. Nevertheless, the “standard” required of a human rights defender is a complex issue, and the Declaration clearly indicates that defenders have responsibilities as well as rights.
Universality of human rights
Human rights defenders must accept the universality of human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A person cannot deny some human rights and yet claim to be a human rights defender because he or she is an advocate for others. For example, it would not be acceptable to defend the human rights of men but to deny that women have equal rights.
Who is right and who is wrong – does it make a difference?
No. It doesn’t matter. A human rights activist may sometimes go beyond the legality of his actions and yet be a genuine defender of human rights. It is not always necessary for a human rights defender to be correct in his or her arguments in order to be a defender. The critical test is whether or not the person is defending a human right. For example, a group of defenders may advocate for the right of a rural community to own the land they have lived on and farmed for several generations. They may conduct protests against private economic interests that claim to legally own all of the land in the area. They may or may not be correct about who owns the land. However, whether or not they are legally correct is not relevant in determining whether they are genuine human rights defenders. The key issue is whether or not their concerns fall within the scope of human rights.
Human rights defenders are often perceived by the State, or even the public, as being in the wrong because they are seen as supporting one side of an argument. They are then told that they are not “real” human rights defenders. Similarly, defenders who act in defense of the rights of political prisoners or persons from armed opposition groups are often described by State authorities as being supporters of such parties or groups, simply because they defend the rights of the people concerned.
This is incorrect. Human rights defenders must be defined and accepted according to the rights they are defending and according to their own right to do so.
Peaceful action
Finally, the actions taken by human rights defenders must be peaceful and within the framework of law in order to comply with the Declaration on human rights defenders. It will be fallacious for the human rights defender to violate the human rights of others or carry on violent protests against the state and still continue to call himself as the human rights defender.