Whether you call yourself a solidarity worker, an activist, an advocate, a human rights campaigner or refer to yourself by your profession, you may fall under the OHCHR definition of a human rights defender. This term is used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote and/or to protect human rights. Human rights defenders are identified above all by what they do, through a description of their actions and of some of the contexts within which they work. The actions taken by human rights defenders must be peaceful in order to comply with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
Defending human rights is often challenging and at times dangerous. Reprisals are frequently experienced by human rights defenders. Many receive life threats for themselves, their families or their colleagues. Moreover, women human rights defenders are frequent targets of gender-based violence, including rape.
State authorities are often common perpetrators of violations against human rights defenders, despite the fact that they should undertake the primary responsibility of assuring their protection. The mental health and psychological well-being of human rights defenders have often been neglected.
Below you can find information about definitions and terms, human rights declarations, resolutions and guidelines on the protection of human rights defenders. There is information about women human rights defenders, about mental health and well-being of human rights defenders, and about reprisals. Lastly, we provide an overview of relevant organisations and sites.