25 - 27 August, 2004
Final Declaration
The III Consultation took place following the I and II Consultations, with broad representation of sectors and activists, including indigenous communities, human rights NGOs, women rights’ groups, environmentalists, the gay and lesbian community, children & youth rights advocates, peasant movements, trade unions, afro-descendent communities and social activists, among others.
Considering
That the definition of human rights defenders contained in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted in 1998 includes all those who defend the rights enshrined in regional and international treaties, conventions and declarations, including members of social movements in the continent who defend civil, political, economic, social, cultural and collective rights.
That since the II Consultation (Guatemala City, July, 2002) the frequency of attacks, threats and hostilities against human rights defenders has intensified and taken on new forms.
That female defenders suffer specific violations to their rights as such.
That the State must guarantee the full implementation of human rights and the protection and security of human rights defenders; and therefore the State has indelegable obligations both to respect the work of human rights defenders and to prevent actions that undermine their work, whether those actions stem from State agents, those working in cooperation with State agents, or those who are emboldened by the failure of the State to protect human rights defenders. Consequently, the situation and guarantees to defenders in the region is a responsibility of State actions and policies.
That few States have adopted policies to protect human rights defenders.
That we are living under the impact of the war on "terrorism" as a reaction of the government of the United States and its coalition to the deplorable attacks of September 11, 2001. This war, which takes place within the framework of globalization and neoliberalism that leads to social and economic exclusion, considering individuals and citizens as ephemera and disposable, constitutes a new expansion of the neoliberal model.
That as a product of the neo-liberal economic measures imposed by the Inter-American Development Bank, the IMF and the World Bank in different countries, the situation of human life has worsened, making the work carried out by human rights defenders more difficult and even more necessary.
That in addition to paramilitary and fundamentalist groups, globalization has brought about new non-State actors (such as multinational corporations and business groups, that even manipulate mass media outlets), that actively participate in violations against human rights defenders, particularly those from indigenous communities, afro-descendents, small farmers, social movements, internally displaced people, and trade unionists, among others.
Neoliberal globalization and the imposition of policies by international financial organisms has made the violation of economic, social and cultural human rights turn into structural violations against human rights.
That in light of a shortage of human and financial resources for regional and international human rights protection bodies, there is a weakening of the mechanisms specifically designed to protect human rights defenders.
That each and every threat, intimidation, persecution, indictment or other attack that human rights defenders suffer have the clear political objective of sanctioning, obstructing or impeding their work. Therefore, these attacks are not just personal, but become attacks against society at large.
We declare
That in the Americas, human rights defenders continue to be threatened, arbitrarily detained, exiled, kidnapped and assassinated.
That among the new forms of persecution of human rights defenders is the attempt to bring judicial procedures against them for their activities, with a tendency to criminalize social protest and activism, charging them with everything from misdemeanors to terrorism.
That in this context, some States in the region have modified, and others are planning to modify, legislation to restrict and even criminalize human rights work and the legitimate right to protest, under the guise of anti-terror laws.
That in many countries defenders face an organized campaign to discredit and isolate human rights defenders and scapegoat them for lack of security and an increase in crime. This generates a dangerous and ultimately false perception of correlation between human rights defense and crime.
That in opposition to these positions, we claim the legitimate role of human rights defenders in the construction of social justice, democracy and the rule of law.
That we assert the legitimate political nature of human rights defense and promotion, as fundamental to democracy, the rule of law, and a just and participatory society, without oppression, misery, vast inequities or any form of discrimination.
The necessity to implement proactive policies aimed at confronting and reverting the attack on human rights defenders and their work.
That State programs and international mechanisms on the protection of human rights defenders should guarantee not only the safety of those individuals, but also the continuity of their work. These programs should, integrally, prevent attacks and actively implement policies to disarticulate, disintegrate and punish the offending parties, whether they be State or non-State actors.
The necessity to articulate human rights defenders work with social movements and other networks and sectors for joint action in the defense of human rights, in particular with respect to economic, social, cultural and collective rights.
Only when society as a whole embraces human rights as their own rights will an effective process of construction and implementation of these human rights begin.
The urgency of strengthening international, regional, national and local efforts to protect human rights defenders.
Social struggles and protests for the upholding of universal rights should never be considered a criminal act, but rather a legitimate activity. On the contrary, it is the State that in these cases should be denounced as criminal when it does not fulfill its obligations or guarantee the rights of its population.
We propose
To continue fomenting a broad concept of "human rights defenders" and the approval of this term, according to the 1998 UN Declaration, making clear the legitimacy of political activity that human rights defenders carry out in strengthening the rule of law and social justice.
To formulate proactive policies that end continuous human rights violations in general, and attacks against human rights defenders in particular, carried out by State or non-State actors, not only to request its punishment but also to prevent its occurrence.
To begin campaigning that confront not only traditional forms of persecution suffered by defenders, but also to combat new tendencies, particularly the criminalization of social protest and orchestrated campaigns to discredit social activism and human rights defense.
To continue organizing and developing national processes that examine the situation of defenders, their needs, and elaborate proactive proposals and implement policies to defend their activities.
That human rights defenders should have a voice in the creation of efforts to protect them, taking into consideration their particular needs.
To implement policies and communication mechanisms agreed to at this Latin American Consultation.
We commit ourselves
To work for the ratification and implementation by States of all international human rights norms.
To work so that States adopt the 1998 UN Declaration into their domestic legislation and public policies, as a first step to the protection of defenders’ rights.
To denounce the use of State intelligence apparatuses to monitor, interfere with and obstruct the work of human rights defenders.
To denounce the policies of criminalizing social protest as a way to deflect responsibility from the State in fulfilling its obligations to ensure economic, social and cultural rights of the people.
To exercise our right to protest as a legitimate form of claiming rights, in accordance with the UN Declaration of 1998.
To request that the Inter-American Commission carry out a hearing on human rights defenders during its next regular session.
To present the country reports and Final Declaration prepared by this Consultation before the Inter-American Commission.
To present the same country reports and Final Declaration to the UN Human Rights Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders.
To request that the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders conduct a study on the criminalization of social protest and activism.
To request that the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders review the procedure of urgent actions such that complainants are informed of any developments related to their communications.
To ask that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights further endorse the Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders’ mandate, with increased human and financial resources.
To share the results of the III Consultation with the European Union so that it takes on a more active role in protecting human rights defenders.
To promote the European Union guidelines on human rights defenders among other defenders in the region so that they demand their implementation as well.
To call on human rights defenders to document violations against them, including the incidents of criminalization, in order to put together national, regional and international complaints, define and foster actions, and propose policies to take on these violations.
To join the international campaign of women human rights defenders and include the issue of gender in our activities.
To continue the campaign of disseminating the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in other social networks.
To adopt the statement on militarization, issued by the organizations present at this III Consultation, as an annex to this Declaration.
To maintain and strengthen the Latin-American Consultation on Human Rights Defenders as a path and social process of articulation, communication and solidarity in the defense and upholding of the urgent and noble work carried out by human rights defenders.
To disseminate this Final Declaration, agreements and reports from this III Consultation nationally, regionally and internationally.
São Paulo, Brazil, August 27, 2004.