EAST AND HORN OF AFRICA: REPORT BY EHAHRDP “DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS: A RESOURCE BOOK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS (2ND ED.)” (EHAHRDP)

20 DECEMBER 2012

2012

Five years have passed since the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project published the first edition of Defending Human Rights: A Resource Book for Human Rights Defenders. Over that time new challenges have evolved and shaped the context in which human rights defenders work.

States continue to employ restrictive legislation limiting the space to conduct human rights work. Anti-terror measures broadly conceived to bolster discretionary and heavy-handed law enforcement with reduced or delayed judicial oversight is increasingly being used to clamp down on legitimate forms of inquiry and dissent from civil society actors. Cross-border cooperation means that human rights defenders forced into exile may continue to face state harassment even in their country of asylum. Restrictive legislation for NGOs have in some cases been utilized to restrict both funding opportunities and human rights activities, while media laws are often interpreted and utilized arbitrarily to selectively stifle freedom of expression. 

Sexual minority defenders continue to fight to secure recognition that LGBTI rights are human rights, while threats from state and non-state actors have created a hostile space for these defenders.

While these challenges change, the tools human rights defenders have at their disposal also evolve and become more sophisticated and effective. Fully utilizing these tools in a strategic way is the challenge and the potential strength for effective human rights defenders.

Engagement with international and regional human rights mechanisms is one of the most effective ways of creating recognition of human rights issues and even requiring duty-bearing stakeholders to officially respond. Chapter 1 contains a discussion of these mechanisms and their effective usage.

Personal care and professional safety for human rights defenders is essential in order for their endeavours to be sustainable. Chapters 2 and 3 respectively cover security management and stress reduction for human rights defenders.

Strategies for campaigning are considered in Chapter 4, which has been updated with a discussion of social media tools for achieving advocacy goals in Chapter 4.5.

The particular challenges and strategies of defending women’s rights and the rights of sexual minorities are examined in Chapters 5 and 6 respectively.

Finally the resource annexes have been updated to include the most relevant publications and organizations for human rights defenders.

We are pleased to be able to make this book available in English, French, Arabic, Swahili, Amharic, and Somali, thereby making it accessible to most populations in this sub-region. We thank our key donor in this project, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

EHAHRDP gratefully acknowledges all the contributors to this resource book for their submissions, as well as for their continued work in the service of human rights.

EHAHRDP dedicates this book to all those who have lost their lives in the struggle for human rights. Let us be united in making a better future.