“This declaration represents a huge step forward for concrete protection of human rights defenders on the ground. We had already welcomed similar commitments by member States of the European Union (EU) in 2004 when they had adopted the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and the First evaluation of the Guidelines two years later. With this declaration, we now have 47 States ready to protect human rights defenders at risk”, said Eric Sottas, Director of OMCT.
“Today in Europe, the situation of human rights defenders remains problematic. We all remember the assassination of the independent journalist Anna Politkovskaia in 2006. I also think of the harsh repression that the Russian civil society has been facing over the past years, as well as the numerous cases of arbitrary detention against representatives of civil society in Georgia. With the adoption of this document, we are preparing the ground for a strong and effective protection mechanism for human rights defenders” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President.
The declaration is the result of more than a year of discussions within the CoE Group of Specialists on Human Rights Defenders, made up of representatives of eleven CoE member-States [1], and which the Observatory has been closely following. Under the terms of the document, the Committee of Ministers calls on member-States to create an environment conductive to human rights defenders, to take effective measures to protect, promote, and respect them, to ensure their access to effective remedies, to take action to prevent attacks and harassment against them, and to ensure their effective access to the European Court of Human Rights.
The declaration also enhances the capacity of member-States to provide measures for swift assistance and protection to human rights defenders in danger in third countries, such as observation of trials and the issuing of emergency visas.
The text further formalises and strengthens the role of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of human rights defenders. The latter is invited by the Committee of Ministers to continue to act upon information received from human rights defenders and other relevant sources, to meet human rights defenders during his country visits and to report publicly on their situation, as well as to intervene with the competent authorities to find solutions to the problems human rights defenders may face, especially in case of emergency. The Commissioner is also required to work in close cooperation with other existing protection mechanisms on the issue, in particular with the OSCE/ODIHR Focal Point, the EU and the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders.
The Observatory welcomes this development and reiterates that it is of utmost importance that both international and regional human rights defenders’ protection mandates exchange information on a regular basis on their methods of work, their achievements and the challenges they face, as well as on individual cases. In this regard, the declaration is an encouragement for all the existing mechanisms on human rights defenders to better communicate and to mutually reinforce each other.
For further information, please contact:
FIDH : Gael Grilhot, + 00 33 1 43 55 25 18
OMCT : Delphine Reculeau, + 00 41 22 809 49 39