Dear friends and colleagues
2018 the year of Human Rights Defenders.
When human rights defenders (HRD) are killed or forcibly disappeared with impunity, the signal given by the authorities is contempt for the human rights of everyone. Amnesty International Report: Deadly but preventable attacks
Amnesty International, has together with other non-governmental and community-based organizations estimated that around 3,500 human rights defenders have been killed worldwide since the adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defender´s in 1998. While governments tend to underreport such happenings the number is likely much higher.
This year we celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as the 70-year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since the beginning, the Universal declaration of Human Rights has been challenged, criticized and under attack. Nevertheless, the Declaration was the important beginning of the development and adoption of legally binding conventions, obliging ratifying states and to incorporate these into national law. The development we have been witness to, during these 70 years, is of vital significance to human rights and human dignity.
To stand up for these rights is of absolute priority. The term human rights defenders, referring to those who, individually or with others, act to promote or protect human rights, play a central role in the ongoing process of defending and respecting human rights. 20 years after the Declaration on the situation of these defenders, much of their work is done under serious hardships, even at the risk of the life and integrity of the defenders. This includes smear campaigns, allegations of criminal acts such as money laundering, death threats, public humiliations and arbitrary detention and even killings. The work of the defenders represents a deep necessity in a world where rights are being contested. This may also affect the mental health and wellbeing of the defenders, something which may be frequently neglected. We must never forget that many of the human rights defenders today are themselves survivors of serious human rights violations.
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