Adoption of an unprecedented resolution at the UN to end the financial strangulation of human rights NGOs

The Committee Against Torture (Russia)

Today, March 21, 2013, the UnitedNations (UN) Human Rights Council gave a strong response to the increasingtrend of curtailing - when not criminalizing - the activities of human rightsdefenders by limiting their right to access funding, especially when they comefrom foreign countries. The Council adopted by consensus an unprecedentedresolution, introduced by Norway and co-sponsored by 70 States, affirming that“no law should criminalise or de-legitimise activities in defence of humanrights on account of the origin of funding”.

“This is a strong signal of support sent by the UnitedNations to the defenders around the world who are prevented from funding theiractivities, de-legitimised and often criminalised for their human rights work”, declared Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President.

“We welcome the adoption of this important resolution,through which the UN Human Rights Council is calling for stronger protection for thoseactors for change and the guarantors of a free society”, said GeraldStaberock, OMCT Secretary General. “Stateshave the responsibility to abide by the resolution and ensure that human rightsNGOs are enabled to access funding, as such restrictions clearly aim atsilencing them”, he added.

Thisresolution confirms and reinforces the previous conclusions of UN human rightsmechanisms affirming the non-compliance of restrictive and repressive practicesand laws with international human rights law. This was illustrated recently bythe decision of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on AlesBialiatski’s case, which stated that Belarus was in breach of its internationalobligations in interfering in the funding of human rights NGOs' activities andrequested Belarus to release him immediately.

Allrelevant UN mechanisms should now build on this text to enhance the protectionof human rights defenders targeted by legislations and practices curtailingtheir legitimate activities in many countries.

Accordingto Olga Abramenko, ADC Memorial Director in Saint-Petersburg, “the new lawsadopted in the Russian Federation to regulate NGOs are used to attack the civilsociety: right now in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other places of Russia manyindependent NGOs are simultaneously being checked by the police, prosecutorsand even tax and fire inspections, with a special focus on sources of funding.It is an obvious repressive campaign against human rights defenders, and it isimportant to have international solidarity and support”. Ziad Abdel Tawab,Deputy Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies added that: “While it is a positive step that Egypt is aco-sponsor to this resolution; Egypt should live up to its obligations andimmediately repeal the draconian draft legislation on NGOs currently discussedat the Upper House that aims at strangling the work of national andinternational civil society”.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), has recently released acomprehensivestudy on restrictions on human rights defenders’ access to funding, which demonstrates how NGOs’ access to funding, inparticular foreign funding, is increasingly being hindered by governmentsaround the world. States resort to restrictive laws, smear campaignsand judicial harassment against human rights defenders as a way tostifle any criticism, such as in Algeria, Bahrain,Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Russia, but also Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, India, andmany others in all regions in the world.

For more information, see also: http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/statements/2013/03/d22172/

The 70 cross-regional co-sponsors of the resolution are the following: Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Benin, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, State of Palestine, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay.