Since the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998, there has been considerable effort to recognize and protect the rights of people to defend their own and others’ human rights. Over time an international protection regime for human rights defenders has emerged, aimed at protecting and supporting defenders in the face of threats and risks. Based upon the international human rights framework, this protection regime focuses on human security, and consists of a variety of actors and mechanisms operating at national, regional, and international levels.

In a Special Issue in the International Journal of Human Rights on ‘Critical Perspectives on the Security and Protection of Human Rights Defenders’, scholars and practitioners critically appraise the construction and functioning of this protection regime, examining: (i) the definition and use of the term ‘human rights defender’; (ii) the effectiveness of protection mechanisms; and, (iii) the complex relationship between repression, activism and risk.

In this conversation, we explore these areas, asking: How do we define who is and who is not a ‘human rights defender’? What are the effects of these decisions? How effective are current protection mechanisms for defenders? How do defenders manage their security as they face risks? How should ‘protection’ work in practice?

Join New Tactics and the authors of the papers in this Special Issue from November 16-20, 2015.

The Latest From New Tactics

Blog: Evaluating the Development of the Human Rights Defender Protection Regime. Read More >

nfographic: 2010-2015 | Strategic Effectiveness Method Trainings | Middle East North Africa Region.
View the Infographic>