DEFENDING THE

DEFENDERS

H U M A N RI G

H T S DE F E N D E R S ( H R D s ) I N

TH E U

. S.

WHY A WEBINAR ON HRDs?• Why this webinar?• Educates us on what we can do to protect ourselves and other

HRDs and to hold the state accountable for inhibiting our work as HRDs

• Raises awareness around our work as HRDs, the barriers we face, and the special protections to which we are entitled to as HRDs

• Encourages us to use the HRD framework in our work and to join a collective effort to amplify the work of and to protect HRDs in the US

SPEAKERS & AGENDA• Speakers• Ejim Dike, Executive Director, U.S. Human Rights Network• Sunita Patel, Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights• Reena Shah, Director of Human Rights Project, Maryland Legal Aid• Ahmad Abuznaid, Legal and Policy Director, Dream Defenders• Karla Torres, Human Rights Fellow, Center for Reproductive Rights

• Agenda• Purpose, Goals, and Introductions (Karla)• Background from USHRN (Ejim)• What makes someone a HRD and to what special protections are they entitled?

(Karla)• Who are the duty bearers of these special protections and what can we do to

enforce them? (Sunita)• Using UN Special Procedures to protect HRDs (Reena)• Using advocacy to raise HRDs’ concerns on the regional and global stage (Ahmad)• Examples of HRDs working together and helpful resources (Karla)• Concluding thoughts and next steps (Sunita)• Q&A

SOME BASICS• What is a HRD? What does he/she do?• Person, or group of people, who promote or protect human rights.

May work on behalf of his/her own rights, the rights of people in his/her community or the rights of others around the world

• Can work on any human rights issue, including both civil and political rights and economic, social, and cultural rights demanding accountability for human rights violations and protecting victims of human rights violations

• Uses a variety of tools to promote and defend human rights, such as: • Monitoring, documenting, investigating, and exposing human rights

violations; • Publicizing and educating the public about human rights violations; • Advocating for changes in laws, government policy, and/or practice; • Providing goods or services that help people realize their human

rights

UN DECLARATION ON HRDs – SPECIAL PROTECTIONSA HRD has the right to several special protections, including to:• Seek the protection and promotion of human rights;• Conduct human rights work individually and in association with

others; • Form associations and nongovernmental organizations; • Meet or assemble peacefully; • Make complaints about official human rights policies and acts and to

have your complaints reviewed; and• Submit to governmental bodies and agencies criticism and proposals

for improving their functioning and draw attention to any aspect of their work that may impede the realization of human rights

HOW TO PROTECT HRDs? Who is responsible for ensuring HRDs’ special protection in the

U.S.? • Government• Community Members• Private Actors/Corporations

International Advocacy• UN Special Rapporteur• Regional Courts/Commissions (e.g. Inter-American Commission on

Human Rights)• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Rapporteurship on

Human Rights Defenders• Other International Mechanisms and Special Procedures

CAMP ACCESS – MIGRANT FARMWORKERS

- Farmworkers live and work on migrant labor camps

- Extremely vulnerable and isolated population experiencing many human rights violations

- No way for outreach workers to reach population; no way for population to reach workers on their own

- Threats to outreach workers and threats to farmworkers

MIGRANT CAMP ACCESS

- No recourse or strategy domestically

- Implicated multiple and inter-connected human rights violations

- Affected an extremely vulnerable population

WHY HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY?

HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY- First ever Human Rights Complaint by legal services

organization to Special Rapporteur (SR) on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights - co-signed by 30+ other legal, healthcare, community service, faith service providers nationally

- SR sent confidential communication to US Government and included SR on Migrants and SR on Human Rights Defenders – advocating for response

- Submitted Hearing Request at Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

- ICCPR Review: Submitted shadow report and Maryland Legal Aid attorney advocated on issue in Geneva

- Future Reviews: Will submit Shadow Reports for CERD and UPR

INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY ON HRDsIACHRGeneva- engaging SR

Side event with UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Geneva March 2014

COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN HRDs• Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition

• Bring Back Our Girls: Petition in collaboration with Women for Peace and Justice; Formal Statement on behalf of arrested protestors in Nigeria

• Abortion providers as HRDs (CRR)• Special testimony before the Human Rights Committee• Briefing to UN SR on situation of HRDs advocating for HRD protections

for sexual rights/reproductive rights women human rights defenders• Campaign to advocate for abortion providers to be recognized and prot

ected as HRDs• Why collaborate?• Collaborations between HRDs help to amplify our work beyond our

context while also providing them with more protections and a stronger HRDs community

• Through collaboration, HRDs become less isolated, just as our human rights work is becoming more intersectional

• Capitalize on momentum from meeting with UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs in March

HELPFUL RESOURCES• UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders• defendingrights.org• Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition• International Service for Human Rights• Inter-American Human Rights Commission report on the situation of

HRDs in the Americas• Frontline Defenders• Protection International • UN Declaration on HRDs

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND Q&A• IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION • NEXT STEPS• Q&A