Defending Human Rights: A Resource Book for Human

United Nations
UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders (1998)
The UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility
of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to
Promote and Protect Universally Recognized
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (known
in short as the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders) codifies the international standards
that protect the activity of human rights defenders
around the world. It recognises the legitimacy of
human rights activity and the need for this activity
and those who carry it out to be protected. Under
the Declaration, human rights defender is anyone
working for the promotion and protection of
human rights. This broad definition encompasses
professional as well as non-professional human
rights workers, volunteers, journalists, lawyers and
anyone else carrying out, even on an occasional
basis, a human rights activity.
Official Site: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/
SRHRDefenders/Pages/Declaration.aspx
Universal Declaration OF Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10
December 1948, was the result of the experience
of the Second World War. With the end of that
war, and the creation of the United Nations, the
international community vowed never again to
allow atrocities like those of that conflict happen
again. World leaders decided to complement the UN
Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of
every individual everywhere
Official Site: http://www.un.org/en/documents/
udhr/
UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of
Human Rights Defenders
The mandate on the situation of human rights
defenders was established in 2000, by the
Commission on Human Rights (as a Special
Procedure) to support implementation of the 1998
Declaration on human rights defenders. In 2008,
with resolution 7/8 and in 2011, with resolution
16/5, the Human Rights Council, decided to
continue the mandate on human rights defenders
for consecutive periods of three years. The current
mandate-holder, Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya, was
appointed by the Human Rights Council in March
2008. Mrs Sekaggya is a magistrate from Uganda and
was the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights
Commission from 1996 to 2008. Between 2006 and
2008 she was a member of the United Nations High
Level Task Force on the Implementation of the Right
to Development.
Official Link: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/
defenders/index.htm
Complaints procedure: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/
Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Complaints.aspx
Commentary to the Declaration on human
rights defenders (2011)
The ‘Commentary to the Declaration on human
rights defenders’ is a 100-page downloadable
document which maps out the rights provided for
in the Declaration, based mostly on information
received and reports produced by the two Special
Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights
defenders, Hina Jilani (2000-2008) and Margaret
Sekaggya (since 2008), during the past eleven years.
From the rights to protection and freedom
of opinion and expression, to the rights to
communicate with international bodies and to
access funding, the ‘Commentary’ analyses what
these rights entail and what is needed to ensure
their implementation. It also addresses the most
common restrictions and violations faced by
defenders, and provides recommendations to
facilitate States’ implementation of each right.
http://www.ohchr.org/
Documents/Issues/Defenders/
CommentarytoDeclarationondefendersJuly2011.pdf
Human Wrongs, Human Rights: A guide to the
human rights machinery of the United Nations
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission &
British Irish Rights Watch (2011)
This is guide that will help NGOs, lawyers and
individuals to find their way around the various
human rights mechanisms of the United Nations.
The mechanisms can seem complex to those who
are not familiar with them but, as this guide shows,
they are in fact accessible and simple to use.
Although primarily aimed at readers in Britain and
Ireland, much of the information and the insights
contained in the guide will be useful to people in
many countries around the world.
60
Defending Human Rights: A Resource Book for Human Rights Defenders | 2nd Edition