A Big Week for Human Rights

Alert Issued: December 9, 2008

"Very often firm public stands in support of human rights defenders can transform a situation of vulnerability into one of empowerment . . ."
       —From a statement on today's anniversary by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and human rights mechanisms in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. 

You may have heard that December 10 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But there is another anniversary this week: ten years ago today the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders came into being. 

This groundbreaking Declaration helps protect human rights activists around the world. The first international agreement to explicitly recognize the right to protect and defend human rights, it brought the concept of human rights defenders into the lexicon of international law.

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Thanks in no small part to supporters like you, we've come a long way in implementing the Declaration. In 2008 you generated tens of thousands of letters, emails, and signatures in support of human rights activists at risk, contributing to successes such as the arrest of a retired general in Indonesia for the murder of a leading human rights lawyer and the release from detention of defenders in Pakistan and Colombia.

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However, on the anniversary of the Human Rights Defenders Declaration, activists around the world remain in peril:

• On December 3, Zimbabwean defender Jestina Mukoko was abducted by men in plainclothes. Five days later, two of her colleagues from the Zimbabwe Peace Project were taken as well, and their whereabouts are unknown. (You can take action here if you haven't already.)
• On December 4, police in St. Petersburg raided an office of a leading Russian human rights organization, Memorial, confiscating 20 years of research and documentation.
• On December 6, ten peaceful protestors were violently arrested in Uzbekistan, where at least 18 other defenders and their relatives remain imprisoned.
• Colombian defenders such as Martin Sandoval and Carmelo Agamez remain unjustly detained. (You can take action here if you haven't already.)
• In Cuba, 55 defenders remain in prison for freely expressing their opinions.  Their wives and loved ones, the Damas de Blanco, have not been allowed to leave the island to draw attention to human rights issues.
• In Iran, defenders non-violently promoting gender equality face continued harassment and restrictions, including illegal searches of their homes, prosecution, and travel bans.

You may recognize these cases from past alerts. We will continue to monitor them, and you can do your part as well: please ask your friends to sign up to support human rights defenders.

CLICK HERE TO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN THE DEFENDER ALERT NETWORK