A/HRC/37/34 Key term Definition orientation, gender identity, disability, religion or belief, nationality, migration or residence status or other status which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. 22 Intersectional discrimination refers to discrimination which is based on multiple grounds, such as race, ethnicity, religion and gender, that interact with one another and produce a compound dimension of disempowerment. 23 Firewall Measures to separate immigration enforcement activities from public service provision, labour law enforcement and criminal justice processes to protect migrants, including migrant victims of crime, that States and non-State actors implement to ensure that persons in an irregular status are not denied their human rights.24 Firewalls are “designed to ensure, particularly, that immigration enforcement authorities are not able to access information concerning the immigration status of individuals who seek assistance or services at, for example, medical facilities, schools and other social service institutions. Relatedly, firewalls ensure that such institutions do not have an obligation to inquire or share information about their clients’ immigration status.”25 Human rights defender A person who, individually or with others, acts to promote and protect human rights. There is no specific definition of who is or can be a human rights defender.26 A person or group does not need to self-identify as a human rights defender to be one. National human rights institutions which operate in compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles) can be considered human rights defenders.27 In these principles and guidelines, “human rights defender” refers to a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote and protect the human rights of migrants. It includes 22 23 24 25 26 27 8 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 1 (1); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 1. Durban Declaration, para. 2, and Programme of Action, paras. 49, 79, 104 (c) and 172; and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens and general recommendation No. 32 (2009) on the meaning and scope of special measures in the Convention. See François Crépeau and Bethany Hastie, “The case for ‘firewall’ protections for irregular migrants: safeguarding fundamental rights”, European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 17, Nos. 2–3 (2015); European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, general policy recommendation No. 16 on safeguarding irregularly present migrants from discrimination; ILO, Promoting Fair Migration: General Survey Concerning the Migrant Workers Instruments (2016), paras. 480–482. See also European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, “Apprehension of migrants in an irregular situation — fundamental rights considerations” (2012). Crépeau and Hastie, “The case for ‘firewall’ protections”, p. 165. The fourth preambular paragraph 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 refers to “individuals, groups and associations … contributing to the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals”. Article 1 of the same document clarifies that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”. See A/HRC/22/47, para. 23.