Commemorating International Human Rights Defenders Day 2019
Today we remember all who struggle to advance human rights around the world – many at great cost to themselves and to their families. We also celebrate the achievements and lives of those who have struggled before us, who secured the rights that many of us enjoy today.
We remain deeply concerned about the imprisonment of human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, Executive Director of the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms, who was arrested on 29 September while attending the questioning of the prominent human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah. According to reports, Mohammed has been subject to degrading, cruel and inhuman treatment and denied his legal rights.
We still mourn the loss of our student, Sam Pegram, a kind and gentle human rights defender and aid worker. Sam was on the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed after taking off from Addis Ababa in March 2019. He was travelling in the course of his work with the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Around the world, people of all genders and from all walks of life struggle to promote and protect human rights. The Human Rights Defender Hub at the Centre for Applied Human Rights is dedicated to understanding more about the lives of human rights defenders and to facilitating conversations between scholars, practitioners, and human rights defenders that advance their security and protection globally.
The Wellbeing of Human Rights Defenders
The wellbeing of human rights defenders has been a key area of focus over the past year.
In October, we launched The Barcelona Guidelines on Wellbeing and Temporary International Relocation of Human Rights Defenders at Risk to aid coordinators of relocation initiatives and wellbeing service providers in supporting the wellbeing of defenders.
The Barcelona Guidelines are a result of a research collaboration with Justice and Peace Netherlands, ICORN, The Martin Roth Initiative, Adam Brown of the New School for Social Research, and independent expert, Sacha Koulaeva. The Guidelines highlight the gendered complexities involved in conversations about ‘wellbeing’ with defenders, and note the importance of embedding wellbeing in the design of relocation initiatives.
This Policy Brief reviews the research findings that underpin the Barcelona Guidelines.
Earlier this year, the Martin Roth Initiative published this report that highlights research findings from a project conducted by Martin Jones, Alice Nah and Patricia Bartley that maps the growing practice of temporary international relocation initiatives globally, and complexities and challenges of running such programmes.
The Human Rights Resilience Project has also been conducting notable research on wellbeing in human rights movements. The HRD Hub has just published this Policy Brief written by them that highlights how human rights organisations can better respond to mental health needs within human rights movements. This research highlights factors that inhibit human rights advocates from addressing their own wellbeing and suggests ways of embedding wellbeing in organisational structures and practices.
Celebrating Women Human Rights Defenders
This year, we are proud to have supported the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst, in the production of his landmark report on women human rights defenders. In this report, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the significant achievements of women human rights defenders in the face of overwhelming odds. Noting their experiences of gendered and intersectional risks, he outlined eight priorities for building diverse, inclusive and strong movements of women human rights defenders.
Students on CAHR’s MA and LLM programmes built this Resource Portal for Women Human Rights Defenders that provides guidance for women and girls interested in promoting and protecting human rights. This Resource Portal features seven inspirational women defenders – Han Hui Hui (Singapore), Ellie Lowther (UK), Wanjeri Nderu (Kenya), Emel Kurma (Turkey), Ruth Acheinegeh (Cameroon), Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwe), and Gul Lalai (Pakistan) – who share their experiences and advice about how to face the challenges of defending human rights.
In Forum Asia’s Working Paper Series on women human rights defenders, Alice Nah and Hannah Dwyer Smith present research findings from the ‘Navigating Risk, Managing Security, and Receiving Support’ Project, highlighting the gendered and intersectional risks experienced by women defenders in Mexico, Colombia, Egypt, Kenya and Indonesia and how they have identified the need to focus on self- and collective care.
At the HRD Hub conference this year, entitled ‘Taking the Long View: Civil Society Resistance and Resilience’ (4-5 November in York), we brought together scholars, practitioners and human rights defenders to contemplate strategies and tactics for ‘pushing back’ against shrinking civil society space. The conversations at this conference reminded us of the importance of connecting our work, supporting one another, and remaining hopeful as we seek to realise a more just and equitable world.