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| A Pakistan HRD |
We are pleased to
inform you that the first UN resolution on the protection of women human rights
defenders was
adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly's Third Committee on 27 November
2013. More than fifty States co-sponsored this important resolution.
The resolution, inter alia:
- expresses concern
about
systemic and structural discrimination and violence faced by women human rights
defenders of all ages, and calls upon States to take all measures necessary to
ensure their protection and to integrate a gender perspective into their efforts
to create a safe and enabling environment for the defence of human
rights;
- calls
upon
States to exercise due diligence in preventing violations and abuses against
human rights defenders and in combating impunity by ensuring that those
responsible for violations and abuses, including gender-based violence and
threats against women human rights defenders, committed by State and non-State
actors, including online, are promptly brought to justice through impartial
investigations;
- strongly
calls upon States to refrain from, and ensure adequate protection from, any act
of intimidation or reprisal against women human rights defenders who cooperate,
have cooperated or seek to cooperate with international institutions, including
their family members and associates, and reaffirms the right of everyone,
individually and in association with others, to unhindered access to and
communication with subregional, regional and international bodies, in particular
the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms;
We
take this opportunity to recall other resolutions adopted by the Human Rights
Council in 2013 on human rights defenders and civil society space:
- Civil society
space: creating and maintaining, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling
environment (A/HRC/RES/24/21).
Civil society actors
have been active in putting these issues on the agenda, advocating for the
necessity of these resolutions and proposing drafting suggestions.
We encourage you to
share these resolutions with your partners and use it in your advocacy efforts
to promote a safe and enabling environment for civil society
everywhere.
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| Sunila Abeysekara - Pioneering women HRD |