Rights and Realities: Protecting Human Rights Defenders in the Context of Security

With this year’s International Human Rights Day celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI) brings to light the important role of human rights defenders and how organizations can help protect their rights.

The webinar features two new resources. The report  “Understanding the Unique Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Africa”, authored by VPI Member LITE-Africa, sheds light on the dangers, challenges and opportunities faced by those promoting human rights across the African continent. Authored by Bennett Freeman Associates, “Guidance on Respecting the Rights of Human Rights Defenders” provides an analytical and operational framework to identify and address risks to human rights defenders across key elements of VPs implementation.

During the webinar, the authors of the two publications present their highlights and findings, spotlighting Voluntary Principles (VPs) implementation with a focus on protecting human rights defenders, followed by a discussion and Q&A session.

Moderator: 

• Alyson Finley, Department of State, Government of United States

Panellists: 

• Joel Bisina, LITE-Africa
• Bennett Freeman, Bennett Freeman Associates LLC

Discussants: 

• Hannah Blyth, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Carmen Rosa de León, Instituto de Ensenanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible (IEPADES)-Guatemala