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Along with other principles and values which World of Tolerance adheres to is the protection of human rights. For years, we have been working in non-formal human rights education. Today, we would like to share the comments of two women human rights defenders who have been integral contributors to the organization’s mission.
Who are human rights defenders, how did this term come to be, and why anyone could be a human rights defender?
Let’s start from the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. To look into the Declaration and its provisions, we asked a comment from the person who stood at the foundation of World of Tolerance, a prominent human rights defender and international lawyer Sasha Delemenchuk.
— In 1998, the United Nations adopted 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, the name of this document is long, but in short we call it the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. This is in fact the first document that has secured the special status of human rights defenders at the international level.
— This declaration says that any person who, at some point in their life, is involved in protecting their own or others’ rights can be a human rights defender. That is, a human rights defender is not a profession, but rather a call of the soul. Although this also requires certain skills. The Declaration also states that human rights defenders must be protected from any attacks either by the state or by non-state actors. And if such attacks occur from non-state actors, then such cases must be effectively investigated by the state, and human rights defenders must receive effective legal protection, rehabilitation and restoration of all their rights.
In this regard, to understand the definition of the human rights defenders even more comprehensively, Aleksandra Zurian, a director of World of Tolerance, human rights activist, provided us with an extract from her thesis “Social Work With Human Rights Defenders who Face Professional Security Risks” on the definitions of who are human rights defenders:
“The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights notes that there is no single definition of who is or can be a human rights defender, but relies on the definition given in the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Bodies of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. This document refers to "individuals, groups and associations of people who contribute... to the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of people and individuals" (UN, 1998).
According to the definition of this category in this broad sense, human rights defenders can be any person or group of persons engaged in the development of human rights, ranging from intergovernmental organizations with thousands of employees and dozens of offices in different parts of the world, to individuals who protect human rights in their local communities.
Human rights defenders are a category of people that is not limited by the criteria of age, gender, origin and professional qualifications. In particular, based on the previous definition, it is important to note that human rights defenders are not only those who work in non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations. It can also be government officials, private sector workers, business representatives, journalists, volunteers, grassroots activists, psychologists, etc.
The term "human rights defender" gained popularity after the adoption of the Declaration in 1998. Until then, terms such as human rights "activist", "professional", "worker" or "monitor" were more common and used synonymously. An important factor in distinguishing human rights defenders into a separate category of people is not their affiliation to certain organizations or specific professional activities, but rather the set of values they share. Thus, the fundamental criterion for a person's belonging to the human rights community is adherence to the basic principles of human rights (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2020).”
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