Human rights defenders: Who are they?

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things

A human rights defender is anyone who works non-violently to promote and protect the human rights of others.

Human rights defenders may address any political, civil, economic, social or cultural human right. They may be groups or individuals organising to protect their natural environment, or working to discover the truth about enforced disappearances. They may be women's groups supporting survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, or indigenous communities struggling for recognition of their land rights. They may be lawyers, offering legal advice to marginalised communities, or representing victims of state violence.

In countries where communities are subject to violent conflict, intimidation or repression, human rights defenders can be key agents for resistance and change, whose work has the potential to bring about the long-term development of democratic civil society and ultimately peace. This often places them at risk, making them targets for threats, abductions, forced disappearance or assassination, and other insidious kinds of attack, including public stigmatisation, defamation or criminal proceedings on trumped up charges.

In 1998 the United Nations recognised the importance of the work of human rights defenders and their need for protection by adopting the Declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms. PBI formed part of an advisory group to create the first European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders in 2004 [click here to download]. These have been key developments in the international effort to protect human rights defenders more effectively.

PBI exists to support and protect these courageous people who stand up for the rights and dignity of their communities because they believe in peace and justice for all. PBI's international volunteers bring visible support and represent an international spotlight that helps deter violence and widen the political space in which defenders can continue their legitimate work without fear.

Read more about the defenders PBI accompanies in:

Colombia | Guatemala | Mexico | Nepal | Indonesia

More information about human rights defenders can be found in the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights fact sheet Defending the Right to Defend.