Panel Discussion: Challenges Faced by Women Human Rights Defenders: Showcasing the United Nations Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders

Event Held: October 24, 2007

Overview

Crowd in attendance for event.

On Wednesday October 24th 2007, Human Rights First, the International Service for Human Rights, and the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership hosted a panel discussion to discuss the ongoing challenges faced by women human rights defenders and to highlight the importance of the UN mandate on human rights defenders. The event introduced “Claiming Rights, Claiming Justice: A Guidebook on Women Human Rights Defenders” (the Manual),1 a toolkit to assist and support activists in the field.

Government representatives from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America universally acclaimed the value and importance of the human rights defenders mandate. Speaking to a packed audience, the panel consisted of Ambassador Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Permanent Representative, Mission of Brazil to the United Nations; Mr. Lawrence Akindele, Minister, Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations; Mr. Muhammad Anshor, First Secretary, Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations; and Ms. Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders. 2 All speakers reiterated the importance and significance of the human rights defenders mandate. They also commended Ms. Jilani’s report to the 62nd session of the General Assembly,3 as well as applauding the potential for the Manual to affect grassroots-level change around the world. The panel was moderated by Neil Hicks, Director of the Human Rights Defenders Program at Human Rights First. A brief interactive dialogue followed the discussion.

Panel Discussion

-Ms. Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders

Members of the panel.

Ms. Jilani started the discussion by clarifying that when calls are made for government/international action with respect to the protection of human rights defenders, it is essential to take into account the specific issues facing women human rights defenders as well as to acknowledge that both men and women are involved in defending the rights of women. She defined a ‘human rights defender’ as anyone who non-violently promotes or protects human rights.

She said it was essential to pay close attention to the way in which government and non-state actors persecute human rights defenders. In fact, Ms. Jilani noted, many of the socialized and discriminatory practices these women face stem from non-state agents.

Ms. Jilani observed that in cultures where a woman’s ‘right to movement’ exists, it is a key factor in ensuring that women human rights defenders can be accommodated and accepted by the society. Conversely, there are women who have suffered abuse, marginalization, isolation, exile, and attacks on their integrity simply because they are defending women’s rights. The issues facing women human right defenders are slightly different from those faced by traditional human rights defenders. Ms Jilani underscored the need for a comprehensive strategy that States should use in dealing with these particular kinds of violations, especially those instigated by non-state actors.

Ms. Jilani said she regularly hears from governments that they cannot take these issues into consideration because of particular societal and/or cultural norms. In fact, Ms. Jilani stated, it remains the primary responsibility of States to ensure that the social, economic, and political conditions exist whereby these rights are enforced.

-Mr. Vebjorn Heines, First Secretary, Mission of Norway to the United Nations

Mr. Heines began by reaffirming Norway’s commitment to human rights defenders and to the mandate as exhibited by their sponsorship of the resolution regarding human rights defenders in the third committee of the 62nd session of the General Assembly. 4 He noted that the Manual offers concrete ways to promote the rights of human rights defenders. Mr. Heines stated that since the approval of the UN human rights defenders Declaration there has been an increased focus on human rights defenders and the grim reality they often face, including threats of harassment and attacks against themselves and their families. He also said that human rights defenders face specific issues related to gender which are exacerbated by their environment.

Early warning systems are essential to prevent human rights violations and Mr. Heines stressed that the international community must support and protect human rights defenders as they often function as early warning systems. Lastly, Mr. Heines stated it was essential for States to take appropriate measures to prevent gender based violence which is intimately connected to the ongoing discrimination and harassment faced by women human rights defenders.

-Ambassador Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Permanent Representative, Mission of Brazil to the United Nations

Ms. Viotti spoke of the international community needing to improve the diagnosis of issues facing human rights defenders as well as to identify specific measures to protect them. She noted that Ms. Jilani’s recent trip to Brazil and her subsequent mission report was “of great value to us”. Ms. Viotti reiterated that there must be cooperation and dialogue with all United Nations’ entities to protect human rights defenders. She explained that Brazil recently mapped the situation and vulnerability of human rights defenders and would extend these learnings to other States (through the hosting of workshops, for example). She also underscored Ms. Jilani’s recommendation that national, regional, and local police reforms were essential to this process.

-Mr. Lawrence Akindele, Minister, Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations

Taking the floor by welcoming Ms. Jilani’s recent report about the situation of human rights defenders in Nigeria, Mr. Akindele commented that his country is now seeing a new State appreciation for human rights with the emergence of democratic governance and a civilian regime. He went on to discuss the variety of efforts currently being undertaken by Nigeria to promote the well-being of human rights defenders in his country the training of police  to better recognize the specific needs of human rights defenders.

-Mr. Muhammad Anshor, First Secretary, Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations

With respect to Ms. Jilani’s mandate, Mr. Anshor exclaimed that it was “one of the most important mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders”. He went on to discuss the variety of efforts currently being undertaken by Indonesia to promote the well-being of human rights defenders in his country.

-Cynthia Rothschild, Senior Policy Advisor at the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership

Ms. Rothschild focused her comments primarily on the value of the Manual. She commented that its very existence was a testament to the fluidity of human rights ­­- and specifically their interpretation - given that many of the rights women currently have came about in the not so distant past. This, she said, becomes particularly important as historically there has not been much attention paid to human rights defenders, and much less to those related directly to female human rights defenders.

Ms. Rothschild’s remarks focused on the three essential components of the Manual, including the “who” it was targeted to, the “why” it was written, and the “how” it should be used.

Ms. Rothschild stated that the Manual’s primary audience are women human rights defenders, further noting that there are subtle distinctions even within this group. For example, there are some women human rights defenders who are targeted by the State and non-state actors simply because of their identity and/or the particular issues they are championing (for example challenging gender norms or advocating for reproductive rights). Essentially, Ms. Rothschild stated that the collective problems facing the female self defence community are not a single monolithic experience.

She then commented on why the Manual was written, observing that most institutions of power (e.g., governments, communities, families, the media, and religious bodies) frequently perceive a risk to their authority when human rights are defended and that this is often the reason women human rights defenders are targeted in the first place. Ms. Rothschild also mentioned that some of the work within the field of human rights is non-gender specific (e.g., torture, forced disappearance, arbitrary arrest) while at other times is explicitly gender-related (e.g., forced pregnancy).

Ms. Rothschild stated that the Manual provided an overview of the kinds of violations women human rights defenders frequently encounter and it was primarily a tool to support them by articulating the commonality of experiences they encounter throughout the world (be it in the global North or the global South). In other words, she said, it was indeed possible to universalize the experience of human rights defenders and that these shared aims gave human rights defenders the right to make broader claims.

She observed that the Manual also functions as a tool for human rights organizations, even when they may not have a clear focus on women human rights defenders or on the violations committed against them. Ms. Rothschild said the Manual therefore allows these organizations to better integrate gender mainstreaming and concerns affecting women human rights defenders within their respective mandates. Moreover, the Manual could easily be used by other women’s or social justice organizations as well, helping them better understand how to assimilate human rights and gender advocacy into their operational frameworks. Ms. Rothschild further noted that governments, policy makers, and UN in-country staff must become skilled at understanding the range of issues facing human rights defenders, including those specifically affecting women human rights defenders.

Ms. Rothschild stated that experiences of female human rights defenders were often shaped by the political climate of gender inequality, something that exists in all countries to some degree. She remarked that the risks women human rights defenders experience are often physical (e.g., death penalty, extrajudicial execution) and/or psychological in nature (e.g., attacks on their reputation). In fact, Ms. Rothschild observed State and non-state actors are quite vested in destroying the reputations of women human rights defenders and the organizations they work for especially with respect to particular gender-specific issues (e.g., reproduction, marital status, gender status).

She ended her remarks by noting that human rights defenders do not just exist within the realm of civil society but also take the form of courageous government officials who are sometimes attacked simply for doing their jobs (e.g., documenting various forms of abuses often makes them susceptible to risk and criticism). Lastly, Ms. Rothschild directed attendees to the Manual’s website, www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org for further information.

Final comments were made by Mr. Hicks, who stressed that human rights defenders have a unique role to play in enforcing human rights standards and that the human rights defenders mandate is of enormous value in protecting defenders.