Today, 29 November, we celebrate International Women Human Rights Defenders’ Day. For me it is a day to remember all those Women Human Rights Defenders who I have spoken to or whose cases I have raised since taking up the mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in May 2020.
WHRDs face great personal risk for their human rights work on behalf of others. But they also face additional risks because of their gender. They defend women’s rights, LGBTIQ rights, environmental rights, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. They fight peacefully against corruption, arbitrary detention, torture and many other human rights violations.
Discover some of the WHRDs whose cases I have raised with authorities below.