REGULATIONS AND PROTECTION PROCEDURES
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REGULATIONS
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PROCEDURES
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International normative about human rights defenders
Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
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Promotion of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: protecting women human rights defenders.
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The Treaty on the European Union and the guidelines on human rights defenders.
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Protection procedures for human right defenders
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
OHCHR’s thematic priorities are strengthening international human rights mechanisms; enhancing equality and counteracting discrimination; combating impunity and strengthening accountability and the rule of law; integrating human rights in development and in the economic sphere; widening the democratic space; and early warning and protection of human rights in situations of conflict, violence and insecurity.
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Special Rapporteurs on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
The main roles of the Special Rapporteur are:
- To gather, receive, examine and respond to information about the situation of human rights advocates.
- To establish cooperation and open dialogue with governments and other stakeholders to effectively promote and implement the Declaration.
- To recommend effective strategies for better protecting human rights advocates and for monitoring compliance with these recommendations.
- To integrate a gender perspective in all work under their purview.
In the exercise of their office, the postholder is responsible for:
- Presenting annual reports to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly about matters or situations of particular importance relative to the promotion and protection of the rights of human rights advocates.
- Making visits to the countries.
- Addressing specific cases which are a cause for government concern.
Regional:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (“OAS”) whose mission is to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere. It is composed of seven independent members who serve in a personal capacity. Created by the OAS in 1959, the Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Together with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (“the Court” or “the I/A Court H.R.), installed in 1979, the Commission is one of the institutions within the inter-American system for the protection of human rights (“IAHRS”).
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution whose purpose is the application and interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights.
Only the participating States and the Inter-American Commission have the right to submit a case for the Court to decide. Therefore, the victims of human rights violations cannot present complaints directly in front of the Court, but they could present them to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, who could, if considered appropriate, submit the case to Court. Its role allows it to make decisions and take precautionary measures, as well as give judgements about cases in which there is a violation of human rights, individually or interstates.
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
The Commission is officially charged with the promotion of human and peoples' rights, the interpretation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the study of individual complaints about violations of the Charter.
The protective mandate, requires the Commission to take measures to ensure that citizens enjoy the rights contained in the Charter. This entails ensuring that the States do not violate these rights and if they do, that the victims are reinstated in their rights.
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Court) is a continental court established by African countries to ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa. It complements and reinforces the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
The Court has jurisdiction over all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, (the Charter), the Protocol and any other relevant human rights instrument ratified by the States concerned. Specifically, the Court covers two types of jurisdiction: contentious and advisory.
The European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights is an international court. It rules on individual or State applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols. This applies to all the States members of this Convention.
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