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	The situation of human rights defenders around the world are extremely worrying by Michel Forst UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders   Human Rights Defenders: Our ‘Gandhis’, ‘Mandelas’, ‘Rosa Parks’ deserve support and protection   Ahead of the International Human Rights Defenders Day, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst called for better support and protection of defenders by States, funders and the general public.   “They are ‘Gandhis’ and ‘Mandelas’. They are ‘Rosa Parks’ and ‘Malalas’. They are also ordinary individuals, lawyers, women activists, community leaders, journalists, unionists and environmentalists who strive to re-claim our rights and promote our freedoms.   They are called human rights defenders, countless individuals and groups advocating for human rights, educating and raising awareness of situations around the world, and holding Governments to account for their actions.   For that reason, international law clearly recognises the crucial role of rights defenders to effectively eliminate human rights violations. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders calls on States to support them and protect them from harm.   In spite of this, when activists fight to unmask injustice, challenges and obstacles are thrown in their path to restrict and dissuade them from persevering. So much so that two weeks ago, on 24 November, 54 Governments refused to join 117 other United Nations General Assembly member States in voting to support a key resolution to recognize the role of defenders, support their work and ensure their protection.   National laws are often enacted to criminalise the human rights defenders’ work or cut their funding. They are unfairly portrayed in adverse terms to intimidate or silence them. They face enormous risks and threats as a result of the work they do, or because of who they are.   Some specific groups are often singled out for targeting. Defenders working on women’s rights, rights of LGBT persons, rights related to land, environment and corporate responsibility, along with indigenous rights, face ever more perilous risks and are constantly under attack.   In commemoration of the International Human Rights Defenders Day on 9 December, I call on States to support and protect human rights defenders at the international, regional and national levels through building defenders-friendly alliances and adopting concrete measures to protect rights activists.   I urge Parliamentarians to be vigilant against laws that restrict civil society space, criminalise human rights activities and stifle funding for defenders.   I ask funders to give priority to human rights defenders both through un-earmarked core funding and specific project resources, in consultation with defenders themselves and through minimal red tape requirements.   I also call on civil society and rights defenders to better organise peer-support and self-protection networks and mechanisms to address current threats and risks, as well as to prevent and warn of future challenges.   And to the general public, I ask them to recognise the important role of numerous activists who ceaselessly seek to defend human rights and fundamental freedoms for the good of the whole society, and to engage their governments and parliaments to support defenders in their countries and in their foreign policy.   In our strife for freedom, equality and justice, it is imperative that we empower and protect human rights defenders – our heroes, our sentinels who fight our human rights battles. They deserve our unequivocal support.”   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Declaration.aspx   The situation of human rights defenders around the world are extremely worrying   Statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders at the 31st session of the Human Rights Council.   As part of my mandate, I have addressed many cases on the situation of individual human rights defenders and their families, and have also raised concerns with regard to human rights organizations, as well as draft legislations negatively impacting on the environment in which defenders operate.   You will see in my report, that within a year I have sent a total of 208 communications to 79 States, both individually and in collaboration with other mandate-holders, addressing the situation of 422 individuals. The report also contains 11 cases of alleged reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations, amounting to smear campaigns, travel bans, harassment, intimidation, denial of medical treatment, arrest, detention, direct threat and physical attacks.   My report on communications is an accessible and transparent tool for human rights defenders, civil society and States alike, presenting alleged violations that have been brought up over the past year, following up on the updates received on individual cases. Communications are grouped by regions, which contain a summary of regional trends of risks and threats facing human rights defenders in each region.   I thank those States that have provided replies to my communications and encourage all other States to reply to allegations raised in my communications in due time.   My annual report provides a brief overview of the activities that I have carried out since the previous reporting period, which included seven regional consultations with more than 500 human rights defenders, including 280 women defenders, from 110 States.   As was underlined in my last report to the General Assembly, the recent developments concerning the situation of human rights defenders around the world are extremely worrying.   The threats facing them may be physical, psychological or socio-economic, and may be conditioned by the interaction of multiple factors, including poor governance, absence of the rule of law, an upsurge of religious and political intolerance and fundamentalism, or tensions over development issues.   The situation is made more volatile owing to an increase in repressive laws and regulations designed to delegitimize and criminalize human rights activities of defenders, including by restricting their funding or obstructing their activities with burdensome bureaucratic requirements tape.   A number of counter-terrorism and security policies have also posed new challenges to defenders, including new restrictions on their individual freedoms and increasing the risks that they face.   And we should be honest with ourselves: many examples show that the attacks against human rights defenders are very often linked to deliberate attempts to stifle and close civil society space.   My report is set against that background of risks and challenges, and tries to explore good practices in the protection of human rights defenders, understood as a practice that contributes to the full respect of defenders’ rights and strengthens their security, including by mitigating the risks they face, addressing threats and building support for their work.   In the context on on-going crackdown against defenders, the choice to focus on good practices in the protection of human rights defenders is also a clear reminder to the international community and to member states that the effective protection of those who defend our rights largely depends on political will and accountability.   We cannot expect success in the protection of defenders if on the contrary we try to hamper their work and weaken their direct environment. There is clearly a need for real commitment from all stakeholders.   The report before you aims to achieve one of the objectives of my mandate, which is to explore, strengthen and replicate new methods and tools to enforce protection mechanisms for defenders. My report therefore outlines protection practices, including at the local, national, regional and international levels. It also profiles protection initiatives in three interrelated areas: first, practices that strengthen the resources and capacities of defenders; second, practices that foster an enabling environment for the defence of their rights; and third, regional and international practices that support their protection at the local and national levels.   My report concludes with seven principles that should underpin good practices in the protection of human rights defenders:   Good practices should adopt a rights-based approach to protection, empowering defenders to know and claim their rights and increasing the ability and accountability of those responsible for respecting, protecting and fulfilling rights. Such practices should recognise the diversity of defenders.   They should be gender-sensitive, apply intersectionality lens to risk assessment and protection initiatives, and recognise that some defenders are in greater risk than others because of who they are or because of what they do.   Measures to protect defenders should focus on their ‘holistic security’, including physical security, digital security, and psychosocial wellbeing.   Good practices would accept that defenders are inter-connected, and also focus on the rights and security of groups and family members who share the risks of defenders.   They should be participatory and involve defenders in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and tactics for their protection.   Finally, good protection practices should be flexible, adaptable, and tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of defenders.   I hope my report will trigger a long overdue debate on ways and means to strengthen our practices in protecting human rights defenders, as well as replicate and disseminate them in different contexts. 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	Meaningful participation for people with disabilities: a pending challenge for a invisible billion by Catalina Devandas Aguilar Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities   March 2016   “People with disabilities constitute at least 15 percent of the world population – the equivalent of the entire population of the Americas,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas Aguilar, who presented a report this week at the Human Rights Council on the participation of people with disabilities in public life and decision-making.   “Due to stigma we are mostly invisible, we rarely occupy positions in governments, and we are normally not consulted about policy-making, even when the issue directly affects us,” said Ms. Devandas Aguilar.   The human rights expert recalled that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which has been ratified by 162 countries, obliges States to consult closely with people with disabilities, recognizing their right to participate in all areas of public decision-making, not just those related to their disabilities.   However, according to the Special Rapporteur this is still a distant dream. “Our voices are simply not heard. Our exclusion is a loss for society as a whole. And it goes against the idea of ‘leaving no one behind’. At this rate we won`t meet the new Sustainable Development Goals unless people with disabilities are treated differently,” she warned.   In her report, Ms. Devandas Aguilar urges all governments to engage in direct consultation with organizations of people with disabilities, rather than only those that advocate on their behalf.   “States must prioritize the participation of organizations led and operated by persons with disabilities and support their establishment and functioning,” she explained.   The Special Rapporteur stressed the importance of engaging with groups who need considerable support, such as autistic people and those with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities.   “States must consult everyone and take their views into account; it’s simply not acceptable to exclude some people”, she said. Ms. Devandas Aguilar also raised concerns about the precarious situation of women and girls with disabilities, pointing out that in many places it is still unsafe for them to take part in open consultations.   * Access the Special Rapporteur’s report: http://bit.ly/1QRxCaj   Rio de Janeiro welcomed the 2016 Paralympic Games to Brazil on the 7th of September, with 4,500 athletes from 159 National Paralympic Committee''s taking part. In his speech, at the opening ceremony Philip Craven, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, said: "Paralympians will switch your focus from perceived limitations to a world full of possibility. They will surprise you, inspire you, but, most of all, they will change you." http://www.paralympic.org/rio-2016 Visit the related web page
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