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Support consensus renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur

Support consensus renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur

HRC52: Support consensus renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

 

GIESCR joins NGO´s letter addressed to all UN Member States urging support for consensus renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders at HRC52.

Human rights defenders are people who act with humanity, serve humanity and who contribute to and bring out the best in humanity. They are key to our daily lives – they work so our governments are more transparent and accountable, our environment cleaner and safer, our schools and workplaces fairer, and our futures more sustainable. As human rights defenders confront power, privilege and prejudice, they frequently face a wide range of risks and threats, including against their organisations and their families, friends and loved ones. Despite their vital contribution, both some governments and non-State actors are still seeking to silence defenders as they expose injustices and demand accountability for all.

 

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders is integral to their protection and recognition, globally. It gathers and responds to information on the situation of defenders around the world, engages constructively with governments and non-State actors and provides expert recommendations to promote the effective implementation of the ‘Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’ (The Declaration on human rights defenders).

 

2023 marks 25 years since the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on human rights defenders. The adoption of the Declaration was a critical point in human rights history where it articulated how existing human rights law applies to the situation of human rights defenders, recognised the importance and legitimacy of human rights activity, and the need to protect it along with those who carry it out. It is apposite that this major anniversary coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, reflecting the integral role that human rights defenders play in the realisation of universal human rights.

 

In 2022, the Human Rights Council reaffirmed the importance of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and its full and effective implementation, and that promoting respect, support and protection for the activities of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, is essential to the overall enjoyment of human rights, including in conflict and post-conflict situations. In 2021, the General Assembly passed by consensus with 85 State co-sponsors a resolution acknowledging the important and legitimate role that human rights defenders played in the COVID-19 response, as well as the challenges faced as a result.

 

At the 52nd session of the Council, States will consider a resolution extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for three years. This is a key opportunity for States and the Council to demonstrate their support and recognition for the indispensable role human rights defenders play to ensure that all people enjoy freedom, dignity, justice and equality.

 

Our organisations therefore urge all States to support the resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders by:

*   participating positively in the negotiations on the resolution

*   presenting early co-sponsorship of the text

*   resisting any attempts to dilute the mandate or State obligations and

*   supporting consensus renewal of the mandate.

Singatories:

  1. ACAT Belgium
  2. ACAT Germany (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
  3. ACAT Italia
  4. ACAT RDC
  5. ACAT Spain-Catalonia
  6. ACAT, GHANA
  7. ACAT-France
  8. ACAT-Liberia
  9. ACAT-Switzerland
  10. ACAT-UK (Action by Christians Against Torture – UK)
  11. Accion Solidaria on HIV/Aids
  12. Action by Christians against Torture in Togo (ACAT TOGO)
  13. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture – Canada
  14. action by Christians for the abolition of torture – Congo
  15. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) – Cameroon
  16. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture of Côte d’Ivoire
  17. Action of Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Burundi (Acat-Burundi)
  18. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
  19. African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum
  20. Agir ensemble pour les droits humains
  21. AlertaVenezuela
  22. Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man
  23. ALKARAMA
  24. Alliance for Democracy in Laos
  25. American Association of University Women (AAUW)
  26. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  27. Amnesty International
  28. Amnesty International Mongolia
  29. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  30. Asian Legal Resource Center
  31. Association for Progressive Communications – APC
  32. Association For Promotion Sustainable Development
  33. association for the respect of indigenous rights, sustainable development and human right
  34. Association for women and Children at Risk
  35. Association of balal
  36. Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM)
  37. Aula Abierta
  38. Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)
  39. Brot für die Welt
  40. Burkina Faso Coaltion of Human Right Defenders (CBDDH)
  41. Bytes For All, Pakistan
  42. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
  43. Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
  44. Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
  45. Center to Alternatives to Development
  46. Centre for Human Rights & Democracy in Africa (CHRDA)
  47. Centro de Alternativas al Desarrollo (CEALDES) – Colombia
  48. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
  49. Child Rights Connect
  50. CIVICUS
  51. CIVILIS Human Rights
  52. Collective of the Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (CFDA)
  53. Committee for Free Expression (Comité por la Libre Expresión C-Libre)
  54. Community Empowerment for Progress Organization
  55. Community Resource Centre (CRC)
  56. Coordiantion of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience
  57. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  58. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
  59. Emonyo Yefwe International
  60. End Impunity Organization
  61. Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial – ECAP
  62. Euro-mediterranean federation against enforced disappearances
  63. European Network Against Racism
  64. Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany
  65. FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  66. Forum Menschenrechte
  67. Franciscans International
  68. Freedom House
  69. GALE, The Global Alliance for LGBT Education
  70. Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training (GHR)
  71. Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
  72. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
  73. Global Human Rights Group
  74. Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
  75. Global Observatory of Communication and Democracy (OGCD)
  76. Gulf Centre for Human Rights
  77. Habitat International Coalition
  78. Hallmark Media
  79. Human Rights Association (Insan Haklari Dernegi)
  80. Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)
  81. Human Rights Council of Australia
  82. Human Rights Defenders Fund
  83. Human Rights House Foundation
  84. Humanists International
  85. Strategic Human Rights Litigation
  86. IFEX
  87. ILEX Acción Jurídica
  88. In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND)
  89. Inclusive Bangladesh
  90. Indigenous Peoples Rights International
  91. Initiative for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS), Inc.
  92. Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA)
  93. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
  94. International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka
  95. International Commission of Jurists
  96. International Commission of Jurists Australia
  97. International Dalit Solidarity Network
  98. International Federation of ACATs (FIACAT)
  99. International Planned Parenthood Federation
  100. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  101. International volunteer organization for women education development
  102. Intersex Society of Zambia
  103. Ivorian Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CIDDH)
  104. Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF.org)
  105. Judicial Reform Foundation Taiwan
  106. Karapatan Alliance Philippines
  107. KIOS Foundation
  108. Law Society of England and Wales
  109. Lawyers without Borders Canada
  110. Maldivian Democracy Network
  111. Mauritanian association for socio-educational development
  112. MENA Rights Group
  113. Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras)
  114. Mongolian Women’s Employment Supporting Federation
  115. Namibia Diverse Women’s Association (NDWA)
  116. Network of the independent Commission for Human rights in North Africa CIDH AFRICA
  117. ORGANIZATION OF ACTIVE WOMEN IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE
  118. Organization Solidarity Development
  119. OYU TOLGOI WATCH NGO
  120. Peace Brigades International
  121. People Forum for Human Rights(People Forum)
  122. PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants)
  123. Plateforme Droits de l’Homme
  124. POS Foundation
  125. Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research (PODER)
  126. PROMEDEHUM
  127. Protection International Mesoamérica
  128. Public Verdict Foundation
  129. Rainbow Pride Foundation
  130. Red Dot Foundation
  131. Refugee Council of Australia
  132. Renewable Freedom Foundation
  133. Riposte Internationale
  134. Rivers without Boundaries
  135. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  136. Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
  137. SAHR
  138. Scholars at Risk
  139. SHOAA for Human Rights
  140. Society for Threatened Peoples
  141. SOS-Esclaves
  142. Speak Up
  143. Struggle to Economize Future Environment (SEFE )
  144. Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU)
  145. Swedwatch
  146. Syrians for Truth and Justice – STJ
  147. The Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
  148. The Community Action Center at Al-Quds University
  149. The Global Interfaith Network (GIN-SSOGIE)
  150. The Kvinna till Kvinna foundation
  151. The Norwegian Human Rights Fund
  152. The Regional Coalition for WHRDs in MENA (WHRDMENA Coalition)
  153. The William Gomes Podcast
  154. Togolese Coalition of Human Rights Defenders
  155. Tournons La Page
  156. Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO)
  157. Viet Tan
  158. West African Human Rights Defenders Network
  159. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
  160. Women’s World Summit Foundation
  161. World Justice Project
  162. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  163. World Uyghur Congress (WUC)
  164. WWF International
  165. Yemeni Institute for Strategic Affairs
  166. Youth Care Motivators
  167. Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia
  168. Zambia Climate Change Network (ZCCN)
  169. Zo Indigenous Forum (ZIF)

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Climate and Environmental Justice

We have advanced rights-based and gender-transformative transition frameworks through research that centres the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities on the frontlines of extractive energy policies, promoting climate and energy frameworks attentive to the social and care-related impacts of transition pathways. We have developed a clear vision for a gender-just transition, firmly rooted in gender and human rights norms, establishing both the legal basis and the direction for the transformative changes our planet and societies urgently need. In particular, the ‘Guiding Principles for Gender Equality and Human Rights in the Energy Transition’, a collective effort built through online consultations, an in-person workshop and multiple rounds of revision with activists, practitioners and experts from around the world, outline a transformative vision for reshaping global energy systems through a human rights and gender equality lens.

Our work recognises that the climate emergency is both an existential threat and an opportunity to reimagine societies built on social, gender, economic and environmental justice. We ground our advocacy in feminist and intersectional principles, prioritising the agency and perspectives of communities in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency yet face its most devastating consequences. Central to our approach is the understanding that energy is not merely a commodity but a fundamental human right; essential for dignity, health, education, work and the realisation of countless other rights. We challenge approaches to the energy transition that risk replicating the harmful patterns of fossil fuel extraction and, instead, advocate for transformative policies that ensure human rights and gender equality as central to building climate-resilient societies rooted in dignity, justice and planetary well-being.

What's next?

We will continue to challenge approaches that treat energy transition as merely a technical shift, instead positioning it as an opportunity to reimagine economies and societies rooted in dignity for all, with particular attention to communities in the Global South who have contributed least to the climate emergency yet are most exposed to its worst effects.

We will connect community-level evidence and the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of extractive policies to national reform and global norm-setting, breaking down silos between human rights, gender, and climate movements, and advancing a shared vision that recognises just transitions as not only fundamental to achieving climate-resilient and sustainable societies, but as transformative pathways that advance social and gender equality, redistribute power and resources equitably, and ensure that energy systems serve the public good rather than profit.

We will mainstream rights-based and genderjust transition priorities in key multilateral spaces (particularly, within the Just Transition Work Programme and the to-be-developed Just Transition Mechanism, within the UNFCCC) to guarantee that just transitions are advanced at all levels.

We will also translate our work, through strategic advocacy, into at least two concrete policy wins, whether promoted, adopted, implemented, or scaled, in priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Kenya), ensuring these policies align with human rights standards, centre gender equality, and reflect the needs and views of affected communities.

We will build momentum for the progressive recognition of the right to sustainable energy to shift dominant narratives away from purely extractive solutions that sideline gendered impacts, community participation, and Global South perspectives.

Economic Justice and Climate Finance

Our work has transformed the global discussion on fiscal policy in a more just, emancipatory and sustainable direction. Our approach has combined both high-level, expert contributions within decisionmaking circles, with bold, impactful work on narrative change with the general public.

We have been instrumental in the inclusion of human rights as a guiding principle of the future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a multilateral instrument with the potential of raising approx. USD 492 billion per year in public revenues currently foregone to global tax abuse. In the process leading to the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ decided at FfD4, we proposed and succeeded in creating a specific human rights workstream within the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism, which was critical to ensure that explicit commitments on the matter were included in the negotiating outcome. In a context of cutbacks in multilateral institutions, we have amplified the capacities of technical experts, providing rigorous technical support and leveraging our influence to ensure the enactments of groundbreaking standard-setting instruments, such as the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Statement on Fiscal Policy and Human Rights, and the first ex oficio hearing on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Fiscal and Economic Policies to Address Poverty and Structural Inequality, leading to an upcoming thematic resolution on the matter. We have also bridged the silos between multilateral tax discussions and climate finance debates, promoting ambitious financing commitments to increase international and domestic resource mobilisation during COP 28, 29 and 30.

At the regional level, our engagement with fiscal cooperation platforms such as the Platform for Fiscal Cooperation of Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), where we are member of its Civil Society Consultative Council, and the African Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker, for which we participated in the pilot mission in Ivory Coast together with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), have been critical in cementing a growing engagement between tax administrations and ministries of finance with international legal experts, exploring actionable and transformative initiatives, such as the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, beneficial ownership registries and corporate countryby-country reports, to be implemented at the international level.

At the local level, our interventions in fiscal reform debates in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria have contributed to shaping legislative outcomes in a more progressive, rights-compliant direction.

As for our leadership in narrative change, we have a measurable track record in delivering tailored, innovative campaigns which have decisively expanded economic justice constituencies by appealing to a broader tent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we created the ‘Date Cuenta’ campaign, coordinating over 40 organisations across civil society to deliver plain language, innovative messaging connecting progressive fiscal reforms to the financing of health, education and social protection. ‘Date Cuenta’ generated over 55 original campaign messages that were tailored to the realities of seven priority countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras) and disseminated in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In doing so, we convened more than 65 online co-creation workshops with partners, coordinating a unified communications strategy which combined digital outreach, press and media coverage, and collaboration with influencers. Ultimately, ‘Date Cuenta’ resulted in more than 60,000 interactions on social media, coverage in major regional and international media outlets, including El País, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and France 24, and the participation of at least 63 social media influencers through 58 dedicated publications. In collaboration with Fundación Gabo and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, we also organised a two-day workshop in Bogota with 20 journalists from 13 countries, building a regional network trained in a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy that has since generated published media coverage on outlets such as La Diaria, Ciper, El Diario Ar and Milenio. Through ‘Date Cuenta’ and our regional advocacy, we strengthened civil society engagement in key processes, including the Financing for Development track and FfD4, co-organised highlevel dialogues with states and civil society from Latin America and Africa.

What's next?

We will shape the UN Tax Convention and its Protocols so they embed human rights principles, and we will stay engaged through follow-up processes (including the expected Conference of the Parties) to support effective implementation. We will keep linking tax and climate finance so that new resources mobilised through fiscal cooperation are channelled to adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage, in line with UNFCCC commitments.

Public Services for Care Societies

We have translated participatory research into accountability and policy outcomes.

In Ivory Coast, our work with Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains and affected communities since 2023 exposed how privatisation and lack of accountability restrict access to quality healthcare. It contributed to the closure of 1,022 illegal private health centres, an executive instrument strengthening the regulation of private hospitals across the country, and the creation of a permanent complaints management committee in healthcare through a bylaw issued by the prefect of Gagnoa. Partners engaged through this process also advanced concrete improvements at facility level: members of the Gagnoa Midwives Association who took part in the participatory action research pooled resources to renovate the neonatal unit of the Regional Hospital, and the Director of the Gagnoa General Hospital launched an action plan to expand services and improve patient reception, with the facility receiving the award for best hospital in the country in 2025.

In Kenya, our research with the Mathare Education Taskforce documented the absence of public schools and the expansion of private provision, evidencing impacts on households and caregivers and strengthening demands for free, quality public education. This work contributed to stronger community agency and collective organisation, alongside ongoing strategies ranging from communications to litigation to secure a public school in the area, some involving GI-ESCR and others led independently.

Across Africa, this work is complemented by a multi-country study examining the human rights implications of austerity in education and health, including how regressive fiscal policies, rising debt burdens and persistent underinvestment undermine the financing and delivery of public services.

In Latin America, from 29 November to 2 December 2021, over a thousand representatives from over one hundred countries, from grassroots movements, advocacy, human rights, and development organisations, feminist movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations, met in Santiago, Chile, and virtually, to discuss the critical role of public services for our future. Following the meeting, the Santiago Declaration on Public Services was adopted to demand universal access to quality, gender-transformative and equitable public services as the foundation of a fair and just society.

We are currently advancing work on care systems, linking public services and fiscal justice through integrated research, advocacy and communications, including a regional campaign framing care as a collective responsibility requiring sustained public investment.

What's next?

In Ivory Coast, we will evaluate and strengthen the complaints management committee and position it as a replicable model for other health facilities. In Kenya, we will support the Mathare community to co-design a model public school for Mabatini and Ngei wards, grounded in human rights standards. Building on our multi-country austerity study, we will drive national advocacy on financing for education and health: advancing reforms in Ghana; launching a fiscal policy and public services financing agenda in Kenya through the CESCR process and targeted coalition work; and, in Nigeria, using the new tax acts in force since 1 January 2026 to catalyse a national accountability campaign for adequately funded, quality public services. In Latin America, we will amplify locally led care pilots across 8 countries and turn lessons into influence—advancing care policies that strengthen care organisations, protect care workers’ rights, support unpaid caregivers, include disability and family networks, and redistribute care more equitably.