Human rights defenders face worsening risks for
challenging firms, UN expert warns
NEW YORK (25 October 2017) - States and companies must do
more to protect and respect human rights defenders working on business-related
issues, amid a worsening climate of attacks, a United Nations expert has said.
“Human rights defenders who are pressing for companies to
be held accountable should not be criminalised or threatened,” said Michel
Forst, presenting his fourth report to the UN General Assembly.
“They play a critical role in ensuring sustainable
development and the enjoyment of fundamental rights.
“Human rights defenders, local communities, trade
unionists and whistleblowers who denounce business scandals are all facing
increasing dangers worldwide, and the responses so far have not matched the
challenges,” Mr. Forst added.
The Special Rapporteur said there was a “worrying
tendency to silence critics”, even though more and more companies were
developing guidelines to ensure that development projects respected the rights
of communities and defenders.
“Human rights defenders are often depicted as
anti-development, but it is high time we change the narrative and show that
those who act against human rights are actually those who are against progress
and development,” Mr Forst said.
In many regions of the world, human rights defenders paid
a high price for exposing human rights violations in the context of
business-related activities, he said. The increasing number of threats and
attacks could largely be explained by the lack of preventative measures such as
consultations of affected communities and reactive measures like grievance
mechanisms.
“I am also appalled by the number of cases in which
companies benefit from corrupt political systems that favour short-term profits
over human rights,” the Special Rapporteur added.
He highlighted a number of concrete steps which States
could take to prevent human rights violations of people trying to hold
companies to account.
For example, countries could introduce laws obliging
companies to show due diligence in protecting human rights and guaranteeing the
participation of communities and rights defenders in business-related
decisions.
International finance institutions also had to ensure
their projects avoided any negative impact on human rights on the ground, he
added.
ENDS
Mr. Michel Forst (France) was appointed by the Human
Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders in 2014. Michel Forst has extensive experience on human rights issues
and particularly on the situation of human rights defenders. In particular, he
was the Director General of Amnesty International (France) and Secretary
General of the first World Summit on Human Rights Defenders in 1998. He is a
former UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
For inquiries and media requests, please contact Lucía de
la Sierra (+41 22 917 9741
ldelasierra@ohchr.org), or write to defenders@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent
experts:
Bryan Wilson – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9826 /
mediaconsultant2@ohchr.org)
Concerned about the world we live in? Then STAND UP for
someone’s rights today. #Standup4humanrights and visit the web page at
http://www.standup4humanrights.org
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