On 17 October 2024, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, presented her latest report in an interactive dialogue with United Nations member States during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in the Third Committee.
In an interactive dialogue presenting her report to the Third Committee of the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor urged States to acknowledge the crucial role of human rights defenders in achieving seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advancing 2030 Agenda. During the interactive dialogue, Mary Lawlor highlighted human rights defenders’ contributions to various SDGs, including zero hunger (Goal 2), good health and well-being (Goal 3), quality education (Goal 4), gender equality (Goal 5), clean water and sanitation (Goal 6) as well as affordable and clean energy (Goal 7). The report illustrates specific examples of human rights defenders’ work and contributions to each of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.
During the dialogue, the Special Rapporteur noted that ninety percent of SDG targets are linked to human rights obligations. Given that only seventeen percent of the goals are on track, she emphasised the need for human rights defenders to be supported in their work in making the SDGs a reality. She noted that despite this crucial work of defenders in advancing the SDGs, they face severe barriers and threats including stigmatisation, criminalisation and other violations of fundamental rights.
In her concluding remarks, the Special Rapporteur emphasised that amidst global disagreements, the SDGs represent a rare consensus and urged States to support, partner with and respect HRDs working to support 2030 Agenda. Mary Lawlor in her recommendations, urged States to publicly acknowledge the essential role human rights defenders play in advancing the 2030 Agenda and called for legal frameworks that protect rather than restrict defenders and civil society in their legitimate work in achieving SDGs.
Since 2021, nominations are open to the public. As a result, not only organisations, but also individuals from all over the world may “nominate their heroes”. The deadline for nominations is 30 November, 2024.
The list of laureates includes famous names as well as relatively unknown individuals. Last year’s laureate is Abzaz Media, one of the last free media outlets in Azerbaijan.
At a time of unprecedented backlash against them, dozens of the most at-risk human rights defenders (HRDs) from all regions of the world will come together with dignitaries and civil society leaders in Dublin for three days from 23-25 October at Front Line Defenders’ flagship event, the Dublin Platform. This is Front Line Defenders’ 12th Platform, bringing together around 100 HRDs from close to 100 different countries.
First held in 2002, previous Dublin Platforms have given HRDs from almost every country the opportunity to share strategies for advocacy and protection, build solidarity with colleagues around the world, and network with high-level decision makers.
“Human rights defenders represent the best of the human spirit. They steadfastly champion the human rights of others, often at great personal risk, to push for fairer, more just societies,” said Alan Glasgow, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders.
“But the challenges they face are enormous. For their courageous work, human rights defenders are often targeted with the worst forms of violence, surveillance, criminalisation and other repression.
The dignitaries addressing this year’s Platform will include: Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe; and Seán Fleming, Minister of State in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/10/human-rights-defenders-are-oxygen-human-rights-ecosystem
Among the HRDs attending the Dublin Platform are LGBTIQ+ rights defenders; Indigenous, land and environmental rights defenders; women human rights defenders; journalists facing threats and persecution; those fighting against corruption and corporate abuse, and those working on a range of other issues.
The HRDs taking part in the Platform face a wide range of risks, from digital surveillance and online harassment, to death threats and violent attacks, to criminalisation and vilification through smear campaigns. Some work in extremely challenging circumstances amid armed conflicts, crackdowns and other large-scale crises. Front Line Defenders documents the wide array of risks faced by HRDs in its Global Analysis, published annually.
The HRDs in attendance will also attend a special tribute at the HRDMemorial monument in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens, to commemorate the hundreds of their colleagues around the world who are killed every year for their peaceful work. According to the HRD Memorial initiative – which Front Line Defenders coordinates – at least 300 HRDs across 28 countries were killed in 2023
Democratic leader María Corina Machado and exiled presidential candidate Edmundo González won the top human rights award for representing all Venezuelans who are “fighting for the restoration of freedom and democracy.” | Marcelo Perez del Carpio/Getty Images
The European Parliament on Thursday 24 October 2024 awarded the Sakharov Prize to Venezuela’s opposition leaders. Democratic leader María Corina Machado and exiled presidential candidate Edmundo González won the top human rights award for representing all Venezuelans who are “fighting for the restoration of freedom and democracy.”
The Venezuelan opposition leaders were nominated by the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). The far-right Patriots group rallied behind them after their original candidate, tech billionaire Elon Musk, failed to make the shortlist for the prestigious prize.
After Venezuela’s elections in late July, in which incumbent socialist President Nicolás Maduro declared victory for another term, the European Union’s foreign service said it would not recognize the results because the government had failed to release supporting voting records from polling stations.
The authoritarian Maduro’s disputed declaration of victory sparked massive opposition protests and a violent government crackdown that left more than two dozen people dead and nearly 200 injured.
Later, presidential candidate González — who fled to Madrid during the crackdown — was recognized by the European Parliament as the country’s legitimate leader.
Two other finalists made the shortlist. One was Gubad Ibadoghlu, a jailed Azerbaijani dissident and critic of the fossil fuel industry nominated by the Greens. The other finalist was a joint nomination of Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun. The groups, who announced a partnership in 2022, were nominated by the Socialists and the Renew group.
Grassroots environmental defenders are building a variety of strategic, community-based approaches to environmental justice. Global actors can do more to support their work write Rebecca Iwerks & Ye Yinth & Otto Saki on 14 October 2024 in Open Global Rights.
The last few years have seen encouraging steps to respond through global and regional policy. National governments have started to make specific commitments to protect environmental rights defenders, deeming it necessary to address the climate crisis. The Escazu agreement in Latin America has explicit requirements for the state protection of environmental rights defenders. [NOTE: On 16 October 2024 civil society in the Americas has issued an urgent call to accelerate the implementation of the Plan of Action on Human Rights Defenders, of the Escazú Agreement, adopted five months ago].Just this month, the UNFCCC Supervisory Body for Article 6.4 and the UN Secretary General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals showed how global bodies can incorporate the protection of environmental rights defenders directly into climate policy. More broadly, hundreds of organizations have pooled their efforts to end retaliation against environmental defenders through the ALLIED network.
Last year, we examined the experiences of environmental defenders who were able to continue their work in repressed environments, using tenets of legal empowerment to find pathways to justice in ways that reduce their risk. Here’s what we saw:
Building community power.…
Changing paths to remedy. …
Building relationships with allies. …..
Knowing, using, and shaping the law to respond to security concerns. …
How do we super-charge support for this subtle, effective protection alternative?
While grassroots justice advocates are continuing to seek remedies in tricky places, global actors can do more to support them. The primary shift that can support this type of innovative risk response is to provide flexible, unrestricted funding directly to grassroots justice advocates, whether through philanthropy or from pooled private sector funds that facilitate independent legal and technical support. Flexible funding allows the practitioners to shift their plans as pathways become riskier; it also allows them to invest in security equipment that may not clearly fit into a project-driven budget. Openness to different types of reporting can allow grassroots justice advocates to make decisions about what information is safest for them to reveal without concerns about financial security.
Secondly, those who influence global frameworks, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), can do more to incorporate the security of environmental rights defenders into these frameworks. For example, the security of environmental rights defenders is integral to the access to justice encompassed by Sustainable Development Goal 16, and progress on that issue should be included in all SDG 16 reporting. Within the UNFCCC, the language protecting defenders from Article 6.4 Supervisory Body and the Secretary General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals should be mirrored throughout climate policy frameworks and resourced during their implementation.
While the actions against environmental defenders are shocking, there are significant steps the rights community can take now to support grassroots actors moving forward.
At the 57th Human Rights Council session, civil society organisations share reflections on key outcomes and highlight gaps in addressing crucial issues and situations. Full written version below:
States continue to fail to meet their obligations under international law to put an end to decades of Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinian people, including the genocide in Gaza, and most recently Israel’s war on Lebanon. States that continue to provide military, economic and political support to Israel, while suppressing fundamental freedoms such as expression and assembly, as well as attacking independent courts and experts, and defunding humanitarian aid (UNRWA), are complicit in the commission of crimes. We urge the Council to address the root causes of the situation as identified by experts and the ICJ, including settler-colonialism and apartheid, and to address the obligations of third States in the context of the ICJ’s provisional measures stressing the plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and the ICJ advisory opinion recognising that ‘Israel’s legislation and measures constitute a breach of Article 3 of CERD’ pertaining to racial segregation and apartheid. The General Assembly adopted the resolution titled “The Crime of Genocide” in December 1946, which articulates that the denial of existence of entire human groups shocks the conscience of mankind. We remind you of our collective duty and moral responsibility to stop genocide.
States have an obligation to pay UN membership dues in full and in time. The failure of many States to do so, often for politically motivated reasons, is causing a financial liquidity crisis, meaning that resolutions and mandates of the Human Rights Council cannot be implemented. Pay your dues! The visa denials to civil society by host countries is a recurring obstacle to accessing the UN; and acts of intimidation and reprisals are fundamental attacks against the UN system itself. The right to access and communicate with international bodies is firmly grounded in international law and pivotal to the advancement of human rights. In this regard, we welcome the action taken by 11 States to call for investigation and accountability for reprisals against individually named human rights defenders. This sends an important message of solidarity to defenders, many of whom are arbitrarily detained for contributing to the work of the UN, as well as increasing the political costs for perpetrators of such acts. We welcome progress in Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the work of this Council as it is the first time that they could register on their own for specific dialogues.
We welcome the adoption of the resolution that renews the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change by consensus.
We also welcome the adoption of the resolution on biodiversity sending a clear call to take more ambitious commitments at the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and acknowledging the negative impact that the loss of biodiversity can have on the enjoyment of all human rights, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. We welcome that these two resolutions recognize the critical and positive role that Environmental Human Right Defenders play. We also welcome the adoption by consensus of the resolutions on the rights on safe drinking water and sanitation; and the resolution on human rights and Indigenous Peoples.
We welcome the adoption of the resolution on equal participation in political and public affairs which for the first time includes language on children and recognises their right to participation as well as the transformative role of civic education in supporting their participation. We also welcome the recognition that hate speech has a restrictive effect on children’s full, meaningful, inclusive and safe participation in political and public affairs.
We welcome the adoption of the resolution from rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The resolution contains important language on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as well as the proclamation by the General Assembly of a second International Decade for People of African Descent commencing in 2025. We welcome the inclusion of a call to States to dispense reparatory justice, including finding ways to remedy historical racial injustices. This involves ensuring that the structures in society that perpetuate past injustices are transformed, including law enforcement and the administration of justice.
We welcome the adoption of a new resolution on human rights on the internet, which recognises that universal and meaningful connectivity is essential for the enjoyment of human rights. The resolution takes a progressive step forward in specifically recommending diverse and human right-based technological solutions to advance connectivity, including through governments creating an enabling and inclusive regulatory environment for small, non-profit and community internet operators. These solutions are particularly essential in ensuring connectivity for remote or rural communities. The resolution also unequivocally condemns internet shutdowns, online censorship, surveillance, and other measures that impede universal and meaningful connectivity. We now call on all Sates to fully implement the commitments in the resolution and ensure the same rights that people have offline are also protected online.
Whilst we welcome the attention in the resolution on the human rights of migrants to dehumanising, harmful and racist narratives about migration, we are disappointed that the resolution falls short of the calls from civil society, supported by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants, for the Human Rights Council to set up an independent and international monitoring mechanism to address deaths, torture and other grave human rights violations at borders. Such a mechanism would not only support prevention and accountability – it would provide a platform for the people at the heart of these human rights violations and abuses to be heard. The study and intersessional mandated in this resolution must be used to enhance independent monitoring and increase access to justice.
We welcome the adoption of the resolution on Afghanistan renewing and strengthening the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. Crucially, the resolution recognises the need to ensure accountability in Afghanistan through “comprehensive, multidimensional, gender-responsive and victim-centred” processes applying a “comprehensive approach to transitional justice.” However, we are disappointed that the resolution once again failed to establish an independent accountability mechanism that can undertake comprehensive investigations and collect and preserve evidence and information of violations and abuses in line with these principles to assist future and ongoing accountability processes. This not only represents a failure by the Council to respond to the demands of many Afghan and international civil society organisations, but also a failure to fulfil its own mandate to ensure prompt, independent and impartial investigations which this and all previous resolutions have recognised as urgent.
We welcome the renewal of the Special Rapporteur on Burundi.
We welcome the renewal of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate on the human rights situation in the Russian Federation. The human rights situation in Russia continues to deteriorate, with the alarming expansion of anti-extremism legislation now also targeting LGBT+ and Indigenous organisations being just the latest example of this trend. The Special Rapporteur has highlighted how such repression against civil society within Russia over many years has facilitated its external aggression. The mandate itself remains a vital lifeline for Russian civil society, connecting it with the Human Rights Council and the broader international community, despite the Russian authorities’ efforts to isolate their people.
We welcome the resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka renewing for one year the mandate of the OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project and of the High Commissioner to monitor and report on the situation. Its consensual adoption represents the broad recognition by the Council of the crucial need for continued international action to promote accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka and keeps the hopes of tens of thousands of victims, their families and survivors who, more than 15 years after the end of the war, continue to wait for justice and accountability. However, the resolution falls short in adequately responding to the calls by civil society. It fails to extend these mandates for two years which would have ensured that the Sri Lanka Accountability Project has the resources, capacity and stability to fulfill its mandate.
We welcome the renewal of the Fact Finding Mission on Sudan with broader support (23 votes in favor in comparison to 19 votes last year, and 12 votes against in comparison to 16 votes last year). This responds to the calls by 80 Sudanese, African, and other international NGOs for an extension of the mandate of the FFM for Sudan. We further reiterate our urgent calls for an immediate ceasefire and the prompt creation of safe corridors for humanitarian aid organisations and groups, and to guarantee the safety of their operations, as well as our call on the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Darfur to all of Sudan and create effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the embargo.
We welcome the renewal of the mandates of the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFM) and of OHCHR for two more years. The deepening repression at the hands of government forces following the fraudulent Presidential elections in July has made evident the vital importance of continued independent documenting, monitoring and reporting by the FFM and its role in early warning of further human rights deterioration. We are pleased that OHCHR is mandated to provide an oral update (with an ID) at the end of this year. This will be key ahead of the end of the term of the current presidency on 10 January 2025. This resolution is an important recognition of and contribution to the demands of victims and civil society for accountability.
We regret that the Council failed to take action on Bangladesh. We welcome Bangladesh’s cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights including by inviting the Office to undertake investigations into allegations of serious violations and abuses in the context of youth-led protests in July and August, as well as positive steps by the interim government. However, we believe that a Council mandate would provide much needed support, stability and legitimacy to these positive initiatives at a time of serious political uncertainty in the country.
The Council’s persistent inaction and indifference in the face of Yemen’s escalating human rights crisis is deeply troubling. Since the dissolution of the Group of Eminent Experts, and despite years of mounting atrocities, we have yet to see the type of robust, independent international investigation that is desperately needed. Instead, the Council’s approach has been marked by half-measures and complacency, allowing widespread violations to continue unchecked. Despite the precarious humanitarian situation, the recent campaign of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention by the de facto Houthi authorities and recent Israeli bombardments, Yemen has increasingly become a forgotten crisis. The current resolution on Yemen represents this failure. Technical assistance without reporting or discussion is an insufficient response. The decision to forgo an interactive dialogue on implementing this assistance is an oversight, undermining the principles of accountability and transparency. We welcome the inclusion of language in the resolution recognizing the vital role of NGO workers and humanitarian staff who the Houthis have arbitrarily detained. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of those who continue to be detained for nothing more than attempting to ensure the rule of law is respected and victims are protected. We urge this Council to act decisively, prioritize the creation of an independent international accountability mechanism, and place civilian protection at the forefront of its deliberations on Yemen.
We continue to deplore this Council’s exceptionalism towards serious human rights violations in China committed by the government. On 17 August, the OHCHR stressed that ‘many problematic laws and policies’ documented in its Xinjiang report remain in place, that abuses remain to be investigated, and that reprisals and lack of information hinder human rights monitoring. We welcome the statement by the Xinjiang Core Group on the second anniversary of the OHCHR’s Xinjiang report, regretting the government’s lack of meaningful cooperation with UN bodies, the rejection of UPR recommendations, and urging China to engage meaningfully to implement the OHCHR’s recommendations, including releasing all those arbitrarily detained, clarifying the whereabouts of those disappeared, and facilitating family reunion. It is imperative that the Human Rights Council take action commensurate to the gravity of UN findings, such as by establishing a monitoring and reporting mechanism on China as repeatedly urged by over 40 UN experts since 2020. We urge China to genuinely engage with the UN human rights system to enact meaningful reform, and ensure all individuals and peoples enjoy their human rights. Recommendations from the OHCHR Xinjiang report, UN Treaty Bodies, and UN Special Procedures chart the way for this desperately needed change.
Finally, we welcome the outcome of elections to the Human Rights Council at the General Assembly. States that are responsible for atrocity crimes, the widespread repression of civil society, and patterns of reprisals are not qualified to be elected to this Council. The outcomes of the election demonstrate the importance of all regions fielding competitive slates that are comprised of appropriately qualified candidates.
Signatories:
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Following a concerted campaign led by ISHR together with other civil society partners, Saudi Arabia was just defeated in its bid to be elected to the UN Human Rights Council!
Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival showcases dozens of events from 11-20 October
The Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, Ireland’s only annual festival celebrating the intersection of the arts and human rights, is back for a sixth year, with events taking place in the capital, around Ireland and online from 11-20 October.
Under the slogan, “In Solidarity: An International Celebration of Arts and Human Rights,” Front Line Defenders and Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality – alongside a range of partners – will bring an exciting and innovative line-up of events that promote equality, human rights and diversity through the arts.
“We are delighted to be back for a sixth year of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, with another strong lineup of innovative and thought-provoking events that use the arts to shine a light on a range of human rights issues,” said Laura O’Leary, International Events and Promotions Coordinator at Front Line Defenders, and the festival’s human rights curator.
“The festival highlights the extraordinary work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world, who courageously work to promote human rights and justice for all.”
Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, this year’s festival takes place over 10 days and includes events in Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Kerry, Cork, Leitrim, Roscommon and Galway, with artists and speakers in attendance from multiple countries. With an exciting blend of events happening in person and online, the festival reaches audiences locally, nationally, and internationally
Front Line Defenders hosts and co-sponsors a range of events during the festival, including (click the links for full event and booking details):
Memorial Monologues – The Path of Memory (1-2pm on 18, 19 and 20 October). This play by Mary Moynihan is adapted from the words of four brave and inspirational human rights defenders from around the world who were murdered because of their peaceful work defending the rights of others. Created as a promenade, ‘walk-in-the-park’ show with theatre, poetry and music, the performance features four of the stories of human rights defenders who are commemorated at the Memorial to Human Rights Defenders in the Iveagh Gardens.
Open Mic Night (7-10:30pm on 17 October). A night of poetry and music related to themes of solidarity, human rights and social justice. We will have special guests featuring curated poetry and music for the night, which will be announced closer to the event and the floor is also open for anyone who would like to sign up to perform.
Guardians of the Land: The Colombia Migrant Film Festival Launch (7-9pm on 16 October). Join us for the launch of the Colombia Migrant Film Festival, where we will be screening a two short documentaries. This year, we welcome the film festival in its Environmental and Migrant Justice edition, an edition that recognises the importance of speaking with urgency about the direct relationship between environmental impacts and migration. This is the year in which migrants, exiles, refugees and artists, positioning themselves from a perspective of the Global South, reaffirm their connection with the territory and recognise that to remember the armed conflict in Colombia is to remember nature itself: victim, scenario and instrument for war.
“Where should they go?” Migrants and Refugee rights Panel Discussion (4-5pm on 20 October). This is a shared discussion on Migrants and Refugees rights, organised by Front Line Defenders with guest speakers including Haneen Boshosha, a woman human rights defender from Libya; Ieva Raubiško, a woman human rights defender from Latvia and Lorena Zambrano, a woman human rights defender from Chile. During this panel, speakers look at the challenges migrants and refugees face around the world but also what their strategies are to build responses and alternatives.
..A one-day conference was organized by African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), in collaboration with Amnesty International Nigeria, to explore the nexus between whistleblowing, corruption and human rights, and in doing so highlight the essence of whistleblowing as a conveyor belt of free speech and an affirmation of individual human dignity and moral worth that requires full protection from the state or other legitimate institutions.
Its theme, ‘Amplifying Whistleblowing to reduce Corruption and protect Human Rights,’ was painstakingly decided to assert the value of whistleblowers in exposing or preventing wrongdoing, and the necessity of standing up for them for largely playing the delicate role of human rights defenders who are in most cases victimized for performing what is clearly the citizenship duty of protecting the well-being of other citizens and the wider society.
Indeed, that whistleblowing is a fundamental human right is neither theoretical nor speculative. All applicable statutes from the domestic to the international are clear on this. And Maxwell Kadiri, senior legal officer at Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and human rights advocate who was the keynote speaker, made the point succinctly in his refreshingly scholarly address by delving into the origin of whistleblowing and laying out all the laws proclaiming it as a human right that deserves protection.
However, worthy of note is that in exercising the right to hold opinion and express themselves by disclosing public interest illegalities or potential danger to competent authorities, whistleblowers are also helping – directly or indirectly – to protect the right being harmed by the wrongdoing they disclose. It isn’t for nothing, therefore, that some of the most prominent whistleblowing cases globally can be traced to whistleblowers who have reported wrongdoing that amounted to human rights abuse. Just one example of such is Dr. Li Wenliang, the 34-year-old Chinese ophthalmologist who was the first to blow the whistle on the covid-19 virus and other issues related to the right to life and access to healthcare. And there are many more unsung heroes like Wenliang whose disclosures have uncovered corruption and its collateral human rights violations. Whistleblowers have largely served as human rights defenders when they expose threats to human rights that the public are not able to access.
In Nigeria, they have continued to be victims of relentless persecution simply for doing the right thing: exposing wrongdoing which serves public interest. This is one of the major reasons for the whistleblowing, corruption and human rights conference. Institutions and individuals perpetrating wrongdoing often find it difficult to admit their mistake. Instead of tackling the message, they shoot down the messenger. Not a day passes without a report of public sector workers at the federal and sub-national levels being censored or penalized for challenging authorities by reporting fraud, corruption, misconduct and other illegalities. Although section 6 of Nigeria’s whistleblowing policy provides protection for whistleblowers on the receiving end of punishment for reporting wrongdoing, no whistleblower is known to have enjoyed any protection under this provision. This is because the oversight institutions are so weak that they are not able to assert themselves to implement this provision effectively. Rather than ensure honest implementation of the policy, these institutions are often found doing the bidding of the persons reported, not able to summon the courage to hold them to account for their wrongdoing and would perpetually ignore complaints of victimized whistleblowers.
At the conference, there were at least four whistleblowers with different stomach-churning tales of workplace oppression ranging from suspension, harassment, denial of salary and other benefits, punitive posting, abusive lawsuits, outright dismissal, and threat to life. At the risk of seeming immodest, it has to be stated that AFRICMIL is overwhelmed with demands for support from whistleblowers in this category. In the face of these varied attacks, it is no surprise that citizens are showing next to no interest in engaging whistleblowing despite its famed rating as an extension of the right of freedom of expression that is linked to the principles of accountability and integrity. To prevent an individual from exercising this right is much more than a denial of fundamental human right; it is a violation of humanity….
Whistleblowing is about promoting the culture of truth, self-expression and democracy. Dr. Chido Onumah, coordinator of AFRICMIL and his counterpart at the Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, have agreed as much and stated their resolve to work together to preserve the freedom of expression rights of citizens as it relates to whistleblowing.
On 12 July 2024 OMCT welcomed the UN Working Group’s call to the government of Tajikistan to unconditionally release them and grant them the right to compensation and other reparations. All five are representatives of the Pamiri indigenous population in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province. Their arrest, detention and conviction occurred amidst a human rights crisis in the Autonomous Province when, following the killing of a local Pamiri resident by police, mass protests erupted in November 2021 and were violently cracked down, leaving 40 people dead and hundreds detained.
Ms. Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva is a journalist, well-known human rights defender, and advocate for the rights of the Pamiri Indigenous population. She was arrested and detained on 18 May 2022 in Dushanbe and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in December 2022.
Faromuz Irgashov, Khursandsho Mamadshoev and Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov are human rights lawyers and belong to the Pamiri Lawyers’ Association, the Director of which is Mr. Kholiqnazarov. All three were members of Commission 44, presided by Mr. Irgashov. This commission had been formed to investigate police brutality following the November 2021 protests. Still, after a further escalation in May 2022, its members were threatened, and several of them were detained and convicted on charges of terrorism or establishing or participating in a criminal association. They were arrested and imprisoned in Khorog on 28 May 2022 and sentenced in December 2022 to 29-, 18- and 16-years imprisonment.
Sorbon Yunoev is a Pamiri civic activist involved in community initiatives in support of the Pamiri indigenous population, who actively criticised the crackdown and police violence during the November 2021 protests. He was arrested on 13 June 2022 in Khorog, released, re-arrested, and detained on 17 June 2022. On 23 August 2022, he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) submitted communications on these cases to the WGAD on 10 October 2023 and requested the Working Group to declare their detention as arbitrary and to call for their immediate release.
In its Opinions, the WGAD endorsed the arguments submitted by the OMCT and concluded that the detention of all five human rights defenders meets the definition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty on four separate counts. It noted also that the government failed to provide evidence that the accusations and charges brought had a factual basis.
The WGAD concluded that the arrest and detention of Mr Irgashov, Mr Mamadshoev and Mr Kholiknazarov were related to their legitimate advocacy for the investigation into police violence against the Pamiri Indigenous population and for having criticised law enforcement authorities for failing to effectively investigate police violence, as part of their work for Commission 44. Likewise, the Working Group concluded that the basis for the arrest and conviction of Ms. Mamadshoeva and Mr. Yunoev was their exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
The Working Group considers that these convictions should be assessed against the backdrop of the current human rights and media freedom situation in Tajikistan – “a picture suggesting that these charges are trumped up and retaliatory in nature, aimed at silencing dissent and quashing human rights advocacy”, in particular in the context of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, and the broader context as reported among other things by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, which indicates a pattern of repression in Tajikistan, where the crackdown on peaceful protests, independent media and human rights defenders has intensified
Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Global CITIZENS FESTIVAL 2024
New York
Friends, New Yorkers, global citizens.
Human rights defenders are champions for our future – shining a light on repression, on injustice and on solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges.
In return, they are often smeared, intimidated, imprisoned, and worse.
According to data gathered by my Office, last year, 320 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in 40 countries were killed. Many of them while protecting nature and the environment.
Across the globe, environmental human rights defenders are leading efforts to tackle a climate crisis that is growing ever more ferocious, more terrifying, and more present.
They are standing up for the marginalized, for the natural world, and for the planet.
For the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
They deserve our gratitude and our protection.
My office is proud to support the Leaders Network for Environmental Activists and Defenders (LEAD), a new initiative focused on meaningful and safe participation of defenders in climate and environmental discussions.
But they need your support too. So I urge you to join my office.
Take action to protect civic space and help us to build a more sustainable and more equal future.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
