Summary
The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights pays tribute
to the work of human rights defenders and recalls that responsibility
for their protection lies first and foremost with States. In recent
years, the situation of human rights defenders has become precarious
in certain States. Azerbaijani and Turkish activists have been arbitrarily
arrested and, in certain instances, convicted, while Russian NGOs
face impediments to their work due to the implementation of legislation
on “foreign agents”. Activists from certain other countries are
often subject to judicial or administrative harassment and to smear
campaigns in the media; this is particularly the case of those who
work on sensitive issues, such as the rights of minorities or the
fight against corruption and impunity of State officials.
Member States should refrain from acts of intimidation of
and reprisals against human rights defenders. It is proposed that
the Committee of Ministers take a number of measures to enhance
the protection of human rights defenders, such as establishing a
platform, similar to that created for journalists, and publicly
and regularly reporting on individual cases of repression.
