Respecting the Rights of Human Rights Defenders: People at the Forefront of Protecting our Rights & our Shared Planet

By Christen Dobson, Co-Head, Civic Freedoms & Human Rights Defenders Programme, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Twenty-five years ago, the landmark Declaration on Human Rights Defenders was adopted by the UN General Assembly reinforcing that we all have the right to defend human rights. It also provides specific protections to human rights defenders - individuals or groups who act to promote, protect, or strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful means. This includes Indigenous communities protesting extractive projects on their lands and territories without their free, prior, and informed consent; union leaders organizing for safer working conditions; youth activists calling for government action to address the climate crisis; journalists reporting on police crackdowns on demonstrations, and many others.

Human rights defenders (HRDs) are vital leaders in our collective fight to address the climate crisis and realize a just transition, raising concerns about risks and harms associated with irresponsible business operations, while also championing sustainable solutions. HRDs are “critical friends” for investors, providing information investors need to conduct effective human rights and environmental due diligence to reduce risks associated with their investments and create long-term value for all stakeholders.

As we mark this anniversary, there is much to celebrate, including the courage, creativity, and commitment of these individuals, communities, and organizations across the globe. 

There is also a significant cause for alarm and an urgent need for action to protect the rights and safety of HRDs. CIVICUS has just announced that the percentage of people living in countries where they can freely associate, demonstrate, and express dissent without significant constraints is only 2% of the world’s population - the lowest since they began tracking in 2018. 

We see ongoing crackdowns on people demanding the protection of human rights, including those calling for an end to violence and occupation by the Israeli government in Palestine and those protesting pipeline projects in numerous countries. And in just the past two weeks at least two Indigenous land and environmental defenders were killed - Quinto Inuma Alvarado in the Peruvian Amazon and Higinio Trinidad de la Cruz, killed in Mexico.

Scale of attacks globally

Between January 2015 – September 2023, at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, we have tracked nearly 5,000 attacks on defenders raising concerns about harmful business practices occurring in every region of the world and related to almost every sector. These attacks include death threats, intimidation, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), criminalization, and killings of people protecting their rights and shared planet. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Our research is based on publicly available information and as many attacks never make it to media sources and there is a significant gap in government monitoring of attacks, the problem is even more severe than these figures indicate.

Twenty-five years after the adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, 12 years since the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were endorsed, and 2 years after the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights released guidance clearly stating that business enterprises causing or contributing to abuses affecting defenders need to end the abuse and address harm, the vast majority of business actors are falling short on their responsibilities to respect the rights of HRDs.

Investor responsibility to respect the rights of HRDs

Institutional investors can be connected to attacks against HRDs through their investments in companies that cause, contribute, or are directly linked to actions undermining the rights of HRDs, increasing their own financial, legal, and reputational risks. 

An essential, core step for both companies and investors to fulfill their responsibility to respect the rights of HRDs is to adopt an institution-wide policy committing to a zero-tolerance approach to attacks and recognizing the valuable role of HRDs in identifying risks associated with business activities.

Yet our just-launched tracker of company commitments to support HRDs shows that only 9 out of 260 companies assessed by the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark have met the three core criteria: a publicly available policy commitment to not tolerate nor contribute to attacks; an expectation for entities with whom they have business relationships to make this commitment; and a commitment to work with HRDs to create safe and enabling environments for civic engagement and human rights. In the mining sector, which has been the most dangerous sector for HRDs since we began tracking attacks, 0 companies met all three indicators.

Investors’ responsibility to know and show their commitment to respect the rights of HRDs also includes engaging in robust human rights and environmental due diligence. Addressing reprisals on HRDs after they occur is insufficient. Investors should adopt a preventive approach - including risks to HRDs and restrictions on civic freedoms in their risk assessment processes and monitoring these risks through ongoing stakeholder engagement. Investors who do not take steps to identify, assess, and address risks to HRDs in their investment portfolios may be exposed to material risks resulting from potential legal, reputational, operational, and financial risks affecting their portfolio companies. While attacks relate to almost every business sector, more than half of attacks we have tracked since 2015 relate to the mining, agribusiness, and oil, gas, and coal sectors, which requires investors with portfolio companies in these sectors to ensure particular attention to risks to defenders.

Investors, companies, and civil society also benefit from a shared space defined by the rule of law, accountable governance, and the civic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. Publicly acknowledging the vital work of HRDs and condemning attacks against them is an important way investors can support their rights. One such example is 44 institutional investors with more than 270 billion USD of combined assets calling on companies to ensure they do not use or support SLAPPs. Investors can use the full breadth of tools at their disposal – company engagement, policy engagement, proxy voting, collaboration with peers, and their own voice – to support the rights of HRDs and respect for civic freedoms, mitigating material risks to their own institutions in the process.

As the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders makes clear – we all have the right to defend rights. As we face a triple planetary crisis and an increase in conflict-related deaths, it is vital we exercise this right to protect our communities and planet. Investors have a critical role, responsibility, and shared interest in ensuring that the rights of HRDs, and the civic freedoms that enable their work, are protected. Engaging in robust human rights and environmental due diligence with ongoing and safe engagement with HRDs is one of the best ways to identify risks and prevent harm to people and the planet.