THE OBSERVATORY for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders L’OBSERVATOIRE EL OBSERVATORIO pour la Protection des Défenseurs para la Protección de los Defensores des Droits de l’Homme de Derechos Humanos Steadfast in Protest Publication of the 2007 Annual Report Media Kit Backlash… mechanisms for the protection of human rights and the increasing media coverage of cases of Over the past 60 years, the Universal human rights defenders who are in danger Declaration of Human Rights has been henceforth permit improved protection for promoted every day by women and men who many of them, they are nonetheless subjected bear witness on behalf of victims and to constant harassment and laws that are demand justice for the weakest. From Andrei destructive of freedom, which prevents them Sakharov to Digna Ochoa, from Shirin Ebadi from carrying out their activities serenely. to Hu Jia or Nelson Mandela, these human rights defenders have contributed and still Arbitrary arrests, sentences handed out contribute to ensuring that the Declaration is following unfair trials, or placements under a reality in the daily life of all. house arrest continued this year, all These famous names hide a multiplicity of constraints on the activities of hundreds of anonymous human rights defenders, who human rights defenders throughout the exposes themselves everyday to the risk of world. Subjected to verbal and physical facing the negative consequences of their violence by the authorities, private armed groups commitment to a fairer and freer society. or the henchmen of such-and-such a regime, defenders have to cope with all kinds of The Observatory, which accompanies, accusations, each more extravagant and follows and protects all year long these defenders, publishes, as every year, its Annual Report “The collective rights dedicated to a whole year of defending activities of the struggle in favour of human Chinese people have been rights all over the world. developing rapidly in the folder of several times every year, This Report, which is different both in number and scale, from the previous ones in terms Wei Jingsheng, Writer, 1996 which resulted in the creation of presentation (see on the next Laureate of the Sakharov of many rights lawyers and Prize for Freedom of page : “a “New” Annual Report”), Thought group leaders. (…) sadly confirms the tendency observed in recent years, i.e. the Meanwhile, CCP’s repression against the rights movement continuing repression of has come from the traditional, without certain rule type into defenders ever more harshly. the systematic repression that have its goal, and rules to Once again this year, the little follow. On one hand, there are newly equipped, most modern and partial progress that has military police of 200,000 that cooperate with local polices been noted has again been and are composed into a large and strong suppression counterbalanced at best by a system that specifically targets people’s rights activities. On stagnation, and at worst by a the other hand, the CCP tries to destroy all the leaders and deterioration in the situation of right defending people by severely torturing the detained human rights and fundamental rights defenders, in an effort to destroy them both physically freedoms. and mentally. Many political prisoners were destroyed both ways, thus losing their ability to make a living. Without being pessimistic, the In particular, last year the Chinese Government’s situation of these rights and repression has rapidly upgraded, in an effort to make freedoms and their defenders sure there is no dissident voices from the people during described in this Annual Report the 2008 Olympics. The repression scale has been for 2007 is scarcely or not at all expanded into the Western sportsmen, media and satisfactory. Although it is diffcult tourists. In a few Western countries, this kind of to obtain precise statistical data suppression of dissident voices has been relayed by for each country, many defenders some Western politicians, such as: Belgium, England still currently lose their lives and New Zealand who tried to suppress their sportsmen because of their commitment. And to express their political opinions during the Olympics.” although the international and (Extract from the Wei Jingsheng contribution to the 2007 Annual Report) regional intergovernmental unfounded than the others. In addition, the tenth anniversary of the Declaration on obsession with “security” henceforth takes Human Rights Defenders, should therefore precedence over the requirement for citizens’ be, for us and for all those who take risks in liberty, including within the most democratic the field to defend the rights and freedoms States, and those who refuse to accept this promoted in these Declarations, a year in have to face appalling criticism. The year 2007 which to rejoice and to wish long life to these also confirmed the tendency to criminalise texts that are the core of the human rights social protest in many of the world’s countries. protection system established since the Second World War. These developments have considerable repercussions on the international system of Indeed, but current events world-wide are human rights protection, which is prey to there to remind us how often the needle attempts to weaken it. Human rights defenders veers to red with regard to access to are often victims of their own success in the fundamental rights and freedoms. And the field and are consequently subject to a backlash main indicator is certainly that of how on the part of the most repressive States, human rights defenders are able to act in against which we must react immediately if we the field. want to avoid a risk of regression. This year, the sixtieth anniversary of the Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Eric Sottas, OMCT Secretary General A “New" Annual Report” The most important aspect of the annual report, which we have now published for nine years, is probably to provide an understanding of current events in relation to the situations that are experienced by human rights defenders. It is precisely because this correlation between the situation of human rights defenders and that of the societies in which they live is obvious, because a worsening of the conditions in which they act or live prefigures a de facto general deterioration in freedoms in their countries, that this year we have decided to change the format of the publication and to place the analysis of the forms of repression to which defenders are subjected in their political context, which is indissociable from the combats they lead for human rights and fundamental freedoms. A new annual report, then, which enables us to understand more thoroughly the political and geo-political situation of the countries where human rights defenders engage their actions, thus enabling a better understanding of the challenges the latter have to face. How can psychological support be provided to the victims of international crimes and other serious human rights violations when it is impossible to travel within a country like Sudan that is prey to war? Can one develop an effective programme of prevention against sexual crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when threatened with death for being a member of an association? Who today, in Russia, can afford to make a regime to face up to its responsibilities, without being subjected in one way or another to violence by groups that are totally dedicated to the regime, or even by an extremely scrupulous State body that is likely to find all kinds of reasons for refusing to “register” your organisation? What reserves of artfulness must Chinese internauts draw on to escape the ever-present “Big Fire Wall”, which has probably become the most effective anti-democracy virus nowadays, potentially benefiting from the de facto support of the sector’s huge multinationals? These few examples show to what extent the human rights defenders activities are precarious and the consequences that repression can have on their activities. You can find all the cases dealt with by the Observatory in 2007 at the following addresses : http://www.fidh.org - http://www.omct.org The Observatory’s main fields of action can The Observatory be summarised as follows : - a systematic alert of the international for the protection of Human Rights community on cases of harassment and Defenders repression of defenders, through urgent appeals, letters to authorities and press The Observatory for the Protection of releases. In 2007 for instance, the Observatory Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme launched 346 urgent interventions, concerning of the International Federation for Human the situations of human rights defenders Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation subjected to different types of reprisals Against Torture (OMCT), was established in (assassinations, acts of torture, ill-treatment, 1997. This action programme is based on the arbitrary arrests and detentions, belief that strengthened cooperation and instrumentalisation of the judiciary, defamation solidarity towards defenders and their campaigns, obstacles to freedom of organisations will contribute to break the association, etc.). isolation they are faced with. It is also based on the absolute necessity to establish a - international fact-finding, judicial systematic response from NGOs and the observation or defence and solidarity international community to the repression missions, regarding specific situations of against them. defenders directly at risk, as in Cambodia, where the Observatory sent a mission in 2007, which The objective of the programme is double: to aimed to evaluate the effective implementation of act in order to prevent or to solve specific the freedoms of expression and peacefull situations of repression against human rights meetings, with a very particular attention to the defenders, and to mobilise the international situation of the activists working on the problem community in view of the recognition of their of forced evictions of the rural populations and role and of their necessary protection both at other vulnerable groups.