A/HRC/37/51
important objective, while recalling that empowering defenders of people on the move is
crucial to the prevention of further tragedy.
II. Methodology
5.
The present report draws from primary and secondary sources of information. It is
informed by a series of consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, including States,
national human rights institutions, international experts, human rights defenders and people
on the move. The Special Rapporteur conducted a multilingual global survey in November
and December 2017 seeking input from all stakeholders. Sixty-one stakeholders, with
experience in 48 States, responded to the survey. In November 2017, the Special
Rapporteur hosted a meeting at the University of York attended by more than two dozen
human rights defenders and international experts with experiences and expertise from
around the world. The report also draws upon a wealth of literature concerning defenders of
people on the move from a range of sources, including civil society and States, and from
within the United Nations system.
6.
The Special Rapporteur also draws upon his own experience in receiving
communications from human rights defenders at risk working on people on the move and
meeting with human rights defenders at risk during his numerous travels and other
meetings. In the period between June 2015 and May 2017, the mandate received a
relatively small number of submissions concerning defenders of people on the move: nearly
15 of 472 communications sent during that period were issued jointly with the Special
Rapporteur on the rights of migrants. This number is representative of longer-term
underrepresentation of defenders of people on the move in communications. Working with
the Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants, the Special Rapporteur intends to
investigate further the reasons underlying this low rate, and to develop methodologies to
better identify and increase the number of communications concerning defenders of people
on the move in the coming months. In researching and drafting the present report, the
Special Rapporteur has paid particular attention to the views and situation of women human
rights defenders.
7.
The Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude to the many human rights defenders
that took extraordinary risks to share their testimonies for the report. He is also grateful to
the Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants, who provided valuable input. He thanks
States and national human rights institutions for their submissions, and the Centre for
Applied Human Rights, University of York, for the assistance and instrumental support in
preparing the report.
III. Definition and normative framework
8.
All people have human rights. 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)1
makes no distinction based on nationality or immigration status: “Everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and
realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international
levels.” Similarly, the international instruments that set out international and regional
human rights regimes extend their protections to all individuals within the jurisdiction of a
State, regardless of whether they are a national or non-national, regardless of how far they
are from their place of birth.
1
4
General Assembly resolution 53/144, annex.
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