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|  | Liaison Newsletter > LIAISON Vol. 3, No. 5, September 1999
UN Declaration to Strengthen the Hands of Human Rights Defenders Human rights defenders have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. They put their freedom and lives at risk in defence of the human rights of others. They speak out when others cannot or will not. Their existence is filled with fear and insecurity. Death threats, intimidation, and harassment are the regular fare of most defenders. They can be journalists, democratists, students, trade unionists, politicians, lawyers and relatives of victims of human rights abuses. Defenders choose this work because they are committed to the achievement of universal rights and freedoms. Paradoxically, the better they perform their jobs, the more danger they face. As Amnesty International has noted: “At the forefront of the campaign to seek truth and justice, human rights defenders are increasingly the target of serious abuses by perpetrators seeking to protect their impunity.” The United Nations drafted the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, commonly known as the Human Rights Defenders Declaration, to give defenders a helping hand. While it is true that human rights defenders were already entitled to many of the rights contained in it, the Human Rights Defenders Declaration reinforces those rights and sanctions the means to attain them. Thirteen long years were spent achieving agreement on the text of the Declaration. It was a real test of the mettle of those governments striving to create more protection for defenders against those wishing to limit protection to very specific circumstances. Its adoption by the General Assembly on December 9, 1998 came during a high point in human rights rhetoric: the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is telling that 50 years after the world first endorsed human rights concerns, the difficult and often unsafe environment in which defenders work was finally articulated. The result is a substantial document outlining the rights of individual defenders of human rights and the responsibilities of governments to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Examples of some of its provisions are: the right to obtain information about human rights; the right to participate in the government of their country; and the responsibility of governments to conduct prompt investigations into human rights abuses. Many see this as a new standard in international human rights protection. Governments and others challenging the work of human rights defenders can be held accountable to this standard. It is a welcome move by the international community to demand that governments take an active role in the protection of human rights. We should keep in mind, however, that the Human Rights Defenders Declaration is not a legally binding document. Nor, unfortunately, was a mechanism for its enforcement created. Only if its provisions become part of customary law, like many of the rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will states be obligated to comply with its tenets. This can happen if governments incorporate the Defenders Declaration into state practice. If the world community takes up this task, the Defenders Declaration will truly provide defenders with the international protection and respect that they should be given. As Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights noted: “[It must be] more than just a Declaration on paper. There must be a recognition of the enrichment of human rights defenders, of civil society.” |
