At the ongoing session of the United Nations General Assembly, a resolution on the protection of women human rights defenders will be presented by Norway and other co-sponsoring States, including in Europe Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland, Macedonia, and Turkey.  

Maria Dahle, Executive Director of the Human Rights House Foundation.

“Within all Human Rights Houses, NGOs work on promoting women rights. This resolution is timely and comes as a clear call to those who think that anything else than rights are to apply when it comes to sexual or gender issues: no one is to tolerate any kind of harassment or violence against women human rights defenders due to some kind of traditional value,” says Maria Dahle, Executive Director of the Human Rights House Foundation, welcoming the resolution for which Human Rights House Network has advocated strongly over many years, including by asking Norway’s government and parliament to take this issue to the United Nations.

First time a resolution specifically acknowledges the role of women

This first ever resolution on women human rights defenders would be a step in the good direction to underline that women defenders and others working on gender and sexual rights are particularly at risk. This is the first time a resolution specifically acknowledges the role of women in the promotion of human rights and the multiple risks they face as a result of historical and structural inequalities in power relations.

Critics against the resolution

The resolution faces critics on the possibility to include references to sexual and reproductive rights as well as to sexual and gender identity. “It even looks as if some States would have a problem with the concept of ‘women human rights defenders’ and try to eliminate it of the resolution. We see the Holy See very active in New York on this. Those trends are particularly worrying and States need to stand up for rights with a strong and clear resolution,” says Florian Irminger, HRHF’s Head of Advocacy and Geneva Office.

NGOs face gender stereotyped attacks

In the Russian Federation, NGOs often face gender stereotyped attacks, as did the Human Rights House Voronezh in Spring 2013, with a campaign accusing its members of promoting pedophilia and working against traditional Russian values. More recently, members of the emerging Human Rights House Armenia working on gender issues in Armenia faced threats and attacks, especially the Women’s Ressource Center. 

The resolution is a way of underlining that this kind of harassment is unacceptable. It is also a support to the work of NGOs in promoting a gender sensitivity, as for example the project lead by the Belarusian Human Rights House. 

Giving due credit to women human rights defenders

Sanja Sarnakava, leader of the Croatian women rights NGO Be Active Be Emancipated and Chair of the Board of the Human Rights House Zagreb.Although the draft resolution being negotiated in New York is weak in thedefinition of the type of violence faced by women human rights defenders, “this resolution finally gives due credit to the courage and bravery of women opposing not only State institutions but also their families and communities for promoting human rights and contributing to democratic processes,” says Sanja Sarnakava, leader of the Croatian women rights NGO Be Active Be Emancipated and Chair of the Board of the Human Rights House Zagreb.

The resolution also underlines specific violence which women human rights defenders face, such as gender-based violence, rape and other forms of sexual violence, harassment and verbal abuse and attacks on reputation, online and offline.

“Elimination of prejudices and customary and other practices based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women, in accordance with international human rights law, thereby addressing harmful attitudes, customs, practices and gender stereotypes that underlie and perpetuate violence against women” is the aim of the resolution, hence mainstreaming the rights approach on gender issues.

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