SURVEY
Invitation to participation in survey by UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders

This is an opportunity to ensure that the experiences and perspectives of women human rights defenders are included. For that purpose, the Special Rapporteur invites you to share your observations and experiences through the secure survey, which can be accessed via the links below until 30 November 2015:

Submissions received through this survey will inform the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council in March 2016.

Background: News Release
On 22 October 2015, the Special Rapporteur presented a report to the General Assembly, sharing the findings from seven regional consultations he had conducted with human rights defenders during the year. The report highlights recent trends of intensified threats to defenders and the risks they face. In order to better address these threats and risks, the Special Rapporteur’s next report to the Human Rights Council will focus on good practices for the protection of defenders, with a view to better disseminating and more widely implementing them.
In order to identify most effective practices, the Special Rapporteur has launched a worldwide survey (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Survey.aspx) through which he is seeking submissions from a wide range of stakeholders, including States, human rights defenders, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions. The secure survey aims to draw together effective practices directed at strengthening defenders’ protection and promoting their work.

Protecting human rights defenders: UN expert launches survey to identify best practices

GENEVA (4 November 2015) – Human rights activists face increasing risks, UN human rights expert Michel Forst said today as he launched a worldwide survey* to identify effective practices in protecting human rights defenders.

“In countless countries, across every region of the world, defenders are targeted, threatened, arbitrarily detained, tortured or killed,” said Mr. Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. He highlighted that violations are perpetrated by States as well as non-State actors, such as religious and armed groups or transnational companies.

“It is important to expose the abhorrent violations against defenders, but it is also important to showcase good practices that support and protect activists,” the independent expert told the Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders.

“The aim of the survey is to demonstrate to sceptical governments that there are encouraging and supportive ways they can defend activists better,” said Mr. Forst, who has heard the testimonies of hundreds of defenders.

The survey will be used to generate a discussion at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2016 on concrete actions needed to disseminate good practices, which are in place in some countries and could be duplicated in others.

(*) Check the survey on good practices in the protection of human rights defenders here:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Survey.aspx

ENDS

Mr. Michel Forst (France) was appointed by the Human Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in 2014. Michel Forst has extensive experience on human rights issues and particularly on the situation of human rights defenders. In particular, he was the Director General of Amnesty International (France) and Secretary General of the first World Summit on Human Rights Defenders in 1998.

The UN human rights experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Mr. Michel Forst (France) was appointed by the Human Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in 2014. Michel Forst has extensive experience on human rights issues and particularly on the situation of human rights defenders. In particular, he was the Director General of Amnesty International (France) and Secretary General of the first World Summit on Human Rights Defenders in 1998.

The UN human rights experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.