THE EUROPEAN UNION: WHAT IT CAN DO, GETTING IT TO TAKE ACTION PROTECTION HANDBOOK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS “THE EU’S OBJECTIVE IS TO INFLUENCE THIRD COUNTRIES TO CARRY OUT THEIR OBLIGATIONS TO RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS.” (EUROPEAN UNION GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS) On the cover: Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi from Iran, winners of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2012. Credit © European Union 2012 THE EUROPEAN UNION: WHAT IT CAN DO, GETTING IT TO TAKE ACTION PROTECTION HANDBOOK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS PUBLISHED IN 2013 BY FRONT LINE DEFENDERS THE INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS WRITTEN BY CHRIS COLLIER EDITED BY VINCENT FOREST SEPTEMBER 2013 FRON TLINE DEF ENDERS Published in 2013 by Front Line, The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Written by Chris Collier. Edited by Vincent Forest September 2013 Copyright © 2013 Front Line Defenders This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial. ShareAlike 3.0 Licence ISBN: 978-0-9570604-6-3 Price €10 plus post and packaging To request/order a copy please contact us at [email protected] or phone +353 1 212 3750 The handbook is available in printed version and on-line in English. The other versions (French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian) are only available on-line. www.frontlinedefenders.org/resources Le manuel est disponible en version imprimée et en ligne en anglais. Les autres versions (française, espagnole, arabe et russe) ne sont disponibles qu’en ligne. www.frontlinedefenders.org/fr/resources El manual está disponible en inglés en su versión impresa y en línea. Las versiones en francés, español, árabe y ruso solo están disponibles en línea. www.frontlinedefenders.org/es/resources www.frontlinedefenders.org/ar/resources Руководство доступно в печатной версии, а также онлайн на английском. Другие версии (на французском, испанском, арабском и русском языках) доступны только онлайн. www.frontlinedefenders.org/ru/resources FRON TLINE DEF ENDERS FRONT LINE DEFENDERS Front Line Defenders was founded in Dublin in 2001 with the specific aim of protecting human rights defenders at risk, people who work, non-violently, for any or all of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Front Line Defenders aims to address some of the needs identified by human rights defenders (HRDs) themselves, including protection, networking, training and access to international bodies that can take action on their behalf. Front Line Defenders seeks to provide rapid and practical support to HRDs at risk, including through a 24-hour emergency response phone line, and through promoting the visibility and recognition of HRDs. Front Line Defenders runs a small grants programme to provide for the security needs of HRDs. Front Line Defenders mobilises campaigning and lobbying on behalf of HRDs at immediate risk. In emergency situations Front Line Defenders can facilitate temporary relocation. Front Line Defenders conducts research and publishes reports on the situation of HRDs in specific countries. The organisation also develops resource materials and training packages on behalf of HRDs as well as facilitating networking and exchange between HRDs in different parts of the world. Front Line Defenders promotes strengthened international and regional measures to protect HRDs including through support for the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. Front Line Defenders seeks to promote respect for the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. PROTECTION HANDBOOK – EU GUIDELINES i If there are aspects of advocacy towards the European Union which you feel are not adequately addressed in this publication, we would be very happy to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us by sending an email to [email protected] . For general information on the work of Front Line Defenders, please log onto www.frontlinedefenders.org Front Line Defenders has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, partnership status with the Council of Europe, and is the winner of the 2007 King Baudouin International Development Prize. The EU Office of Front Line Defenders Located in Brussels, Belgium, the Front Line Defenders’ EU office was established in 2006 to coordinate the organisation’s advocacy activities towards EU institutions and individual EU governments. It raises cases of HRDs at risk, encouraging the EU and its Member States to take quick action in accordance with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and to put in place appropriate mechanisms to improve the implementation of the Guidelines. ii FRONT LINE DEFENDERS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This handbook was written by Chris Collier, an independent consultant supporting the work of human rights defenders through training, advocacy, research, evaluation and advice. He can be reached through his website www.chriscollier.nl . Front Line Defenders wishes to thank human rights defenders Dinah Kituyi, Feliciano Reyna Ganteaume, Waleed Sulais, Ruki Fernando, and Poengky Indarti for their valuable comments, as well as those who provided additional information for the ‘good practices’. Front Line Defenders is grateful for the financial support of the following donors: Irish Aid European Commission (EIDHR) Iris O’Brien Foundation Adessium Foundation Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oak Foundation The Roddick Foundation Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Rausing Trust Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency PROTECTION HANDBOOK – EU GUIDELINES iii CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS . vii INTRODUCTION . viii QUICK REFERENCE TABLE FOR REQUESTING EU ACTION TO PROTECT HRDS . x CHAPTER 1: WHAT HRDS CAN EXPECT FROM EU MISSIONS IN ADDRESSING THEIR PROTECTION NEEDS . 1 CONTACT/ACCESSIBILITY . 3 EU Liaison Officers on Human Rights Defenders and Human Rights Focal Points . 4 PUBLIC SUPPORT . 5 Public statements or declarations . 7 Visible contact or recognition . 11 Trial observation . 12 Observation of demonstrations or public activities . 15 Visits to HRDs in detention or under house arrest . 15 Physical accompaniment . 17 NON-PUBLIC SUPPORT . 17 Directly raising urgent cases with local authorities by EU Missions . 18 Raising cases by Representatives of the EU/Member States . 19 Raising issues and cases in the “political dialogue” . 21 REST AND RESPITE/ TEMPORARY RELOCATION . 22 FUNDING . 24 FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY AND NETWORKING . 26 iv FRONT LINE DEFENDERS CHAPTER 2: GETTING THE EU TO TAKE ACTION- HOW HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS SHOULD PROCEED . 30 CONTACT/ACCESSIBILITY . 30 PUBLIC SUPPORT . 34 Public statements or declarations . 34 Visible contact or recognition . 35 Trial observation . 36 Observation of demonstrations or public activities . 37 Visits to HRDs in detention or under house arrest . 37 Physical accompaniment . 38 NON-PUBLIC SUPPORT . 38 EU Missions raising cases with authorities . 38 Raising cases by Representatives of the EU/Member States . 38 Political dialogue . 39 REST AND RESPITE/ TEMPORARY RELOCATION . 40 FUNDING . 40 FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY AND CONTACTS . 42 CHAPTER 3: GENERAL LOBBY AND ADVOCACY STRATEGIES . 44 GOOD DOCUMENTATION . 44 COORDINATION . 44 SEEK DOMESTIC REMEDIES . 45 GET INTERNATIONAL NGOS INVOLVED . 45 USE EU/MEMBER STATE PARLIAMENTS . 48 REFER TO SPECIFIC POLICIES, PRACTICES AND STANDARDS . 49 BUILD RELATIONSHIPS . 50 GET FUNDING . 51 PROTECTION HANDBOOK – EU GUIDELINES v ANNEX 1: EU GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS . 54 ANNEX 2: UNITED NATIONS’ “GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING ALLEGATIONS OF VIOLATIONS AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS” . 64 ANNEX 3: UN DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS . 67 vi FRONT LINE DEFENDERS LIST OF ACRONYMS AI Amnesty International EEAS European External Action Service EIDHR European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights EU European Union FIDH International Federation for Human Rights FORUM-ASIA Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development HR High Representative HRD Human Rights Defender HR/VP High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OMCT World Organization Against Torture OSCE Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe SG Secretary General UN United Nations PROTECTION HANDBOOK – EU GUIDELINES vii INTRODUCTION In order to prevent them from doing their legitimate and peaceful human rights work, or in retaliation for the work they are undertaking, human rights defenders (HRDs) are threatened and their rights are violated by state and non- state actors. In many countries they face considerable personal risk because they stand up for the rights of others against powerful interests. Front Line Defenders documents hundreds of such cases per year. It is therefore clear that HRDs need protection. There are different strategies that HRDs can adopt to improve their security, including getting foreign embassies to play a role in preventing or reacting to attacks on HRDs. The purpose of this handbook is to zoom in on this option for protection of HRDs, focusing on the European Union (EU). In June 2004, under the Irish Presidency, the EU adopted the document “Ensuring protection – European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders” 1 (hereafter referred to as the EU Guidelines on HRDs). As the EU Guidelines on HRDs state, the EU’s general objectives are “to bring about an environment where human rights defenders can operate freely”