Who Defends the Defenders? Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

As a rule, the activities of defenders are opposed to the interests of the powerful, whether they are governments or private corporations, and therefore need protection. This study analyses legal and institutional instruments for the protection of defenders at the international level and in six countries: Colombia, Mexico, DR Congo, the Philippines, Türkiye and Serbia. In these countries, human rights defenders are in a difficult position, facing numerous threats and pressures – from police repression, through defamation campaigns to legal prosecution. Thus, these are countries where there is a need for additional protection of defenders, but (still) a significant discrepancy between the normative level and practice.

The study provides an overview of the existing instruments for the protection of human rights defenders in these countries, as well as an analysis of their effectiveness in a broader socio-political context.