Promotion of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms : Protecting Women Human Rights Defenders

A/RES/68/181View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 69bHuman rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2013.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Gender-Based Violence Human Rights Activists Human Rights Policy Human Rights Violations Women's Rights

What does this mandate say?

32 operative paragraphs

Calls upon all States to promote, translate and give full effect to the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,10 including by taking appropriate, robust and practical steps to protect women human rights defenders;

Takes note with appreciation of the work of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, noting the particular attention given to women human rights defenders;

Stresses that respect and support for the activities of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, is essential to the overall enjoyment of human rights, and condemns all human rights violations and abuses committed against persons engaged in promoting and defending human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Recognizes that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and that the international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis, and stresses that, while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Expresses particular concern about systemic and structural discrimination and violence faced by women human rights defenders of all ages, and calls upon States to take all measures necessary to ensure their protection and to integrate a gender perspective into their efforts to create a safe and enabling environment for the defence of human rights;

Reiterates strongly the right of anyone, individually and in association with others, to defend the human rights of women in all their aspects, and stresses the important role of women human rights defenders in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, to which everyone is entitled without distinction of any kind, including in addressing all forms of human rights violations, combating impunity, fighting poverty and discrimination and promoting access to justice, democracy, the full participation of women in society, tolerance, human dignity and the right to development, while recalling that the exercise of these rights carries duties and responsibilities set out in the Declaration;

Urges States to acknowledge publicly the important and legitimate role of women human rights defenders in the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and development as an essential component of ensuring their protection, including by publicly condemning violence and discrimination against women human rights defenders;

Calls upon States to ensure that human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, can perform their important role in the context of peaceful protests, in accordance with national legislation consistent with the Charter of the United Nations and international human rights law, and in this regard to ensure that no one is subject to excessive or indiscriminate use of force, arbitrary arrest or detention, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, enforced disappearance, abuse of criminal and civil proceedings or threats of such acts;

Also calls upon States to exercise due diligence in preventing violations and abuses against human rights defenders, including through practical steps to prevent threats, harassment and violence against women human rights defenders, who face particular risks, and in combating impunity by ensuring that those responsible for violations and abuses, including gender-based violence and threats against women human rights defenders, committed by State and non-State actors, including online, are promptly brought to justice through impartial investigations;

Further calls upon States to ensure that the promotion and protection of human rights are not criminalized or met with limitations in contravention of their obligations and commitments under international human rights law and that women human rights defenders are not prevented from enjoying universal human rights owing to their work, including by ensuring that all legal provisions, administrative measures and policies affecting women human rights defenders, including those aimed at preserving public morals, are clearly defined, determinable, non-retroactive and compatible with relevant provisions of international human rights law;

Underlines the fundamental principle of the independence of the judiciary and that procedural safeguards must be in place in accordance with States’ obligations and commitments under international human rights law in order to protect women human rights defenders from unwarranted criminal actions and sanctions as a consequence of their work in line with the Declaration;

Also underlines that women human rights defenders have the right to the lawful exercise of their occupation or profession and that everyone who, as a result of his or her profession, can affect the human dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of others should respect those rights and freedoms and comply with relevant national and international standards of occupational and professional conduct or ethics;

Stresses that, in the exercise of the rights and freedoms referred to in the Declaration, women human rights defenders, acting individually and in association with others, shall be subject only to such limitations as are in accordance with applicable international obligations and are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society;

Urges States to strengthen and implement legal, policy and other measures to promote gender equality, empower women and promote their autonomy and to promote and protect their equal participation, full involvement and leadership in society, including in the defence of human rights;

Invites leaders in all sectors of society and in their respective communities, including political, military, social and religious leaders and leaders in business and the media, to express public support for the important role of women human rights defenders and the legitimacy of their work;

Calls upon States to implement, effectively and expeditiously, Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000, 1820 (2008) of 19 June 2008, 1888 (2009) of 30 September 2009, 1889 (2009) of 5 October 2009, 1960 (2010) of 16 December 2010, 2106 (2013) of 24 June 2013 and 2122 (2013) of 18 October 2013 on women and peace and security, including through the provision of gender-sensitivity training for police officers and law enforcement personnel, inter alia, on the barriers that women human rights defenders face in gaining access to justice in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, ensuring the inclusion of sexual violence in the definition of acts prohibited by ceasefires and in provisions for ceasefire monitoring and the exclusion of sexual violence crimes from amnesty provisions in the context of conflict resolution processes, as a step towards the effective protection of women, including women human rights defenders;

Strongly calls upon States to refrain from, and ensure adequate protection from, any act of intimidation or reprisal against women human rights defenders who cooperate, have cooperated or seek to cooperate with international institutions, including their family members and associates;

Reaffirms the right of everyone, individually and in association with others, to unhindered access to and communication with international bodies, in particular the United Nations, its special procedures, the universal periodic review mechanism and the treaty bodies, as well as regional human rights mechanisms;

Urges States to develop and put in place comprehensive, sustainable and gender-sensitive public policies and programmes that support and protect women human rights defenders, including by providing adequate resources for immediate and long-term protection and making sure that these can be mobilized in a flexible and timely manner to guarantee effective physical and psychological protection, while also extending protection measures to their relatives, including children, and otherwise to take into account the role of many women human rights defenders as the main or sole caregivers in their families;

Emphasizes the need for the participation of women human rights defenders in the development of effective policies and programmes related to their protection, recognizing their independence and expertise with regard to their own needs, and the need to create and strengthen mechanisms for consultation and dialogue with women human rights defenders, such as focal points for human rights defenders within the public administration, for example, through national mechanisms for the advancement of women and girls, where they exist, or other mechanisms, depending on the national and local context;

Urges States to adopt and implement policies and programmes that provide women human rights defenders with access to effective remedies, including by ensuring:

The effective participation of women human rights defenders in all initiatives, including transitional justice processes, to secure accountability for violations and abuses, and also ensuring that the guarantee of non-recurrence incorporates overcoming the root causes of gender-based violations and abuses in everyday life and institutions;

Adequate access to comprehensive support services for those women human rights defenders who experience violence, including shelters, psychosocial services, counselling, medical care and legal and social services;

That women human rights defenders who are victims of sexual and other forms of violence are attended to by adequately trained and equipped personnel with gender sensitivity and expertise and are consulted during each step of the process;

That women human rights defenders are able to avoid situations of violence, including by preventing the occurrence or recurrence of such violence in the exercise of their important and legitimate role in accordance with the present resolution;

Also urges States to promote and support projects to improve and further develop the documentation and monitoring of cases of violations against women human rights defenders, and encourages the provision of adequate support and resources for those working to protect women human rights defenders, such as government agencies, national human rights institutions and civil society, including national and international non-governmental organizations;

Encourages national human rights institutions to support the documentation of violations against women human rights defenders and to integrate a gender dimension into the planning and implementation of all programmes and other interventions related to human rights defenders, including through consultations with the relevant stakeholders;

Encourages regional protection mechanisms, where they exist, to promote projects to improve and further develop the documentation of cases of violations against women human rights defenders and to ensure that programmes for the security and protection of human rights defenders integrate a gender perspective and address the specific risks and security needs of women human rights defenders;

Encourages United Nations bodies, agencies and other entities, within their respective mandates and in cooperation with the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to address the situation of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in their work and to contribute to the effective implementation of the Declaration;

Requests all concerned United Nations agencies and organizations, within their mandates, to provide all possible assistance and support to the Special Rapporteur for the effective fulfilment of her mandate, including in the context of country visits and through suggestions on ways and means of ensuring the protection of women human rights defenders;

Requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to report annually on her activities to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, in accordance with her mandate;

Decides to continue its consideration of this matter.

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