A/HRC/43/51 I. Introduction We are also human beings. We have families. We have feelings. We have tears. Families of prisoners sometimes ask me: what did you do for my husband? For my son? I sometimes have nightmares. We will not be resilient nor achieve our ambitions, unless we get access to psychological support. (Defender, Occupied Palestinian Territories) 1. In September 2019, staff members of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the international community of defenders lost Abdul Samad Amiri, a 28year-old husband and father of one who was abducted and assassinated by the Taliban in the Jalriz district of Maidan Wardak Province. He had been a staff member of the Commission for six years, documenting violations and reaching out to those affected. Others before him had lost their lives to their commitment to human rights and to their institution. Colleagues will carry on. That same month, in Myanmar, the youth activists Seng Nu Pan and Paw Lu were sentenced under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for staging a street performance denouncing the resumption of hostilities in Kachin State. Just one day later, several hundred defenders and their organizations joined forces nationwide to issue a statement on the situation in neighbouring Shan State, yet another forgotten conflict, calling on all parties to end the war and protect civilians and on the international community to step in. 2. Voices of defenders concur, within and beyond borders. They must be protected and allowed to resonate without interference. 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 (Declaration on Human Rights Defenders) recalls the fundamental relationship between international peace, security and the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It recognizes the valuable work of individuals, groups and associations in contributing to the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in relation to mass, flagrant or systematic violations and in strengthening peace. The present report comes at a time when more countries have recently experienced violent conflict than at any other time in nearly three decades.1 Many defenders are affected by several armed conflicts at once, upsurges in inter-ethnic violence, terrorism or other criminal activities, with armed responses sometimes generating further risks for human rights. Others grapple with wide-ranging post-conflict challenges that do not exclude relapse into armed conflict. Defenders shape the present, immediate and long-term future of societies in which they live and operate. Yet they strive to operate in these settings, under considerable pressure, too often solely responsible for their own protection. 3. The present report comes in response to a demand from many of them. It takes forward the endeavours of several special procedures 2 and hopes to contribute to developments under way, notably by the United Nations on peacebuilding and on expanding the civic space. It addresses the situation of defenders operating in post-conflict and conflict areas, including under occupation, notably in the context of so-called “fragile States”.3 This includes a number of situations on the agenda of the Security Council, the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund, or under preliminary examination or investigation by the International Criminal Court. 4. The present report builds on activities of the mandate holder. It is informed by submissions received from Member States, national human rights institutions, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and networks, as well as individual defenders. Valuable contributions were also received from the field presences of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations missions and offices, and a commission of inquiry. The contributions relate to over 1 2 3 2 A/72/707-S/2018/43, para. 3. A/HRC/31/55, para. 27; A/HRC/37/51, paras. 33–43 and 50–62; A/HRC/40/60, paras. 71–72; A/58/380; A/HRC/11/4. www.worldbank.org/en/topic/fragilityconflictviolence/brief/harmonized-list-of-fragile-situations.