
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Who is a Human Rights Defender? What can the Special Rapporteur do?Official Statements

Bahrain: deteriorating health condition and ill-treatment of HRDs Abduljalil Al-Singace, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Naji Fateel in prison (joint communication)
Official Letters and Statements
This is the summary of a joint communication sent to the Government of Bahrain about the deteriorating health condition and ill-treatment of HRDs Abduljalil Al-Singace, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Naji Fateel in prison.
Latest Information Received

UNGA side event – “Participation and protection: Increasing support for WHRDs in conflict, post conflict and crisis-affected situations”
Latest InformationOn 10 October 2023, a side event will take place on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, discussing my new report: “Pathways to peace: women human rights defenders in conflict, post-conflict and crisis-affected settings”.

Tunisia: restrictions against defenders, violence and reversal of gains
Latest Information[English / العربية / Français]
In a hearing with Tunisian human right defenders, I heard very worrying information about increasing restrictions on their work, danger to their physical safety, and the threat of reversals to significant gains made in fundamental rights in recent years.

Hearing with human rights defenders in the DRC
Latest Information[English / Français] Earlier this month, I held a hearing with human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was an opportunity for me to learn more about their work and the challenges they face as they go about promoting and protecting human rights.
More Information Received
“Information received” does not necessarily reflect the views of the Special Rapporteur or the United Nations.
Human Rights Defenders

Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) are people who act peacefully to promote or protect human rights in accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
“Human rights defenders are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They work peacefully for the rights of others and help build civil and just societies based on the rule of law.”
Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs
Violations committed against HRDs
Submit Information on HRDs at risk