Forty-seven Member States of the Human Rights Council should vote a draft resolution on the protection of human rights defenders today. This vote is attracting a lot of attention as thirty hostile amendments have been proposed by China, Cuba, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia to substantially weaken the text.
Those amendments include proposals to remove any reference in the text to the term ‘human rights defenders’, to deny the legitimacy of their work, and to weaken their protection against attacks and reprisals.
Under the impulsion of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), together with 150 non-governmental organisations from all regions of the world, in an open letter to governments, EuroMed Rights agrees that the resolution – which focuses on the situation and protection needs of those working to promote economic, social and cultural rights – is a timely, balanced and important response to the worsening crackdown on human rights defenders.
Have a look at the open letter here.