A/HRC/37/51 I. Introduction 1. Just over two years ago, the body of a three-year old boy washed ashore a beach near Bodrum, Turkey. The boy’s family had been fleeing the bloody armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the little boy had drowned as they sought safety. The image of the lifeless body of Alan Kurdi galvanized popular opinion around the world, leading to demonstrations, and culminated in September 2016 in the renewal of the commitment of the international community to people on the move in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 71/1. Despite this renewed commitment, however, individuals, groups and communities defending the rights of people on the move have faced immense challenges. Defenders of people on the move face unprecedented restrictions, including threats and violence, denunciation in public discourse, and criminalization. More specifically, defenders who have taken to sea to rescue other people on the move have been arrested, had their boats seized and been accused of smuggling. The right of persons on the move to defend their own rights is even more restricted. Protests by those fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic about the conditions of their reception – conditions which often prompt dangerous onward movement – have been met with media indifference and police violence. Such a hostile environment silences the voices of those that would seek to keep alive the memory of Alan Kurdi and others that have died while moving across borders, and ensures that the bodies of people on the move will continue to be washed ashore, found in unmarked graves, or simply disappear in unforgiveable numbers. 2. In his report submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fourth session (A/HRC/34/52), the Special Rapporteur pointed out his intention to review the situation of persons acting to defend the rights of migrants. The present report goes beyond the situation of persons acting to defend the rights of migrants to review the broader situation of persons acting to defend the rights of all people on the move. The Special Rapporteur has come to recognize that the narrow categories of “migrant” and “refugee”, and the silos of policy and activism that they perpetuate, are part of the problem facing defenders in this area. Rather than working from existing categories, in accordance with the practice of actors ranging from United Nations agencies, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to civil society organizations, such as Amnesty International to academic and legal commentators, the Special Rapporteur will adopt a category of individuals and communities defined by their shared experience: ”people on the move”. 3. In the report, the Special Rapporteur intends to draw attention to the difficult situation of those who act in solidarity with people on the move and who seek to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of their human rights. These defenders, many of whom are themselves people on the move, face a constellation of challenges, arising from both some of the disturbing features of global migration policy and the general trend towards the closing of civic space to human rights defenders. Importantly, many human rights defenders become people on the move in response to the risks they face arising from their human rights advocacy; they move in order to avoid threats and violence by the perpetrators of human rights violations that they oppose. In entering exile, they often continue with great difficulty their defence of human rights, and may turn their attention to the defence of their own rights in exile and the rights of other people on the move. Meanwhile, their allies and supporters face challenges of their own, arising out of the geographic location of people on the move, and the increasing criminalization and stigmatization of both people on the move and their defenders. The rise of non-State actors in migration processes also creates additional risks for defenders of people on the move. 4. In such a context, as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the mandate holder calls upon all States and other actors to protect and promote the rights of defenders of people on the move and to address the challenges that they face in their exercise of their fundamental right to promote and protect the universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms of people on the move. The Special Rapporteur hopes that the present report will guide all stakeholders in their efforts to implement the 3