| We, the undersigned, appeal to member states of
the United Nations participating in negotiations on the Human Rights Defenders Declaration
(the Draft Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs
of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms) to work toward the prompt completion of a strong Declaration. In particular, we call for a Declaration that strongly reinforces core
rights already provided in international agreements, including:
- The right to advocate human rights ideas freely and openly and to
communicate them to others.
- The right to participate in non-violent activities aimed at
promoting observance of human rights.
- The right to use the law and state institutions in the defense of
human rights, and to appeal to them when the victims cannot do so for themselves.
- The right to form, join or affiliate with national or
international human rights organizations.
- The right to receive and publish information at home and abroad.
- The right to obtain and utilize the resources necessary for human
rights defense.
- The right to communicate with national and international
nongovernmental organizations on human rights issues and to have access to
intergovernmental organizations.
- The right to defend human rights in a manner consistent with
international standards, without being constrained by national laws and regulations that
fall short of international standards.
- The right to defend the rights of others as well as one's own.
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Please mail signed petitions to: Defenders
Declaration, Human Rights Internet, 8 York Street, Suite 302, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 5S6
Canada. Postage to Canada is 46c. Human Rights Internet will forward all petitions to
appropriate officials. |