Hansard

I am grateful to have the opportunity to open on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives in today’s important debate reaffirming our support for human rights defenders.

“Some of the bravest people in the world”.

That is Amnesty International’s description of those individuals who are courageous in the face of threats, harassment, detention and physical attacks. They remain determined in their fight for a freer and fairer world, where human rights are protected for everyone. Sadly, as we heard from the minister, 2018 saw the highest number of human rights defenders killed on record. According to data that was collected by Front Line Defenders, 321 individuals in 27 countries were targeted and killed. The groups that were targeted are wide ranging and include journalists, who often come under severe pressure when shining a light on human rights concerns; women human rights defenders, who are at risk of being targets of sexual and gender-based violence, harassment, intimidation and public smearing; those who work on land and environmental issues, which include defending indigenous people’s rights, often in the face of private companies that are aligned with state interests; and LGBT human rights defenders, who can face multiple threats by the authorities in societies that are deeply rooted in discrimination.

Actions have been taken to protect and aid human rights defenders across the world. The United Nations adopted the declaration on human rights defenders, which states that defenders have a right to defend human rights, associate freely with others, document human rights abuses, seek resources for human rights work, criticise offending Government bodies and agencies, and access protection from the UN and regional mechanisms. Although the declaration is not legally binding, in recent years, several states have adopted laws that explicitly protect human rights defenders.

In North and South America, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights established a special unit to protect defenders in 2001. The rapporteurship on human rights defenders closely follows the situation of all individuals who work to defend rights in the region.

Similarly, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights appointed a special rapporteur on human rights defenders for the region. Their mandate includes examining the situation of human rights defenders in Africa, submitting reports to the African Commission, developing strategies to better protect human rights defenders and promoting the implementation of the UN declaration on human rights defenders.

In our own country, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a long history of supporting human rights defenders. In 2013, the UK became the first state to adopt a plan with specific commitments relating to the protection of human rights defenders working in the fields of business and human rights. The plan stated that the Government would instruct embassies and high commissions to

“work with host governments ... UK business, trade unions, NGOs, human rights defenders, academics, lawyers and other experts so they can help inform companies on the human rights risks they face”,

and to

“support ... civil society and trade union efforts to ... promote protection of human rights defenders who are actively engaged on issues relating to business and human rights”.

This summer, the UK Government renewed those commitments with the publication of its most recent human rights defenders policy paper. It outlined the importance of human rights defenders to the UK and ways in which the UK Government can support them. The paper included numerous pledges, such as using

“all routes, bilateral and multilateral, to create stronger global standards to support and protect Human Rights Defenders”

and providing

“practical in-country support as appropriate, taking into account the local context and the wishes of the Human Rights Defender”.

The UK has a proud tradition of strong democratic values, and I welcome the UK Government's renewed commitment to promoting universal human rights, with individuals, and communities able to challenge, discuss and debate freely and safely, without fear of attack. That work is vital as, across the world, defenders are facing prosecution every day in their efforts to protect human rights.

Let us take the case of Azza Soliman in Egypt. Azza bravely speaks out for victims of torture, domestic abuse and rape. She co-founded the Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance and later Lawyers for Justice and Peace to give legal aid, support and literacy lessons to women in poverty and survivors of abuse. Because of that work, Azza and other Egyptian human rights defenders have been labelled as spies and national security threats. They have been targeted with smear campaigns and Government surveillance, and security forces and pro-Government media constantly harass them. Recently, Azza was arrested and interrogated, and she now faces charges of slandering Egypt’s name. She has been banned from travel, her assets have been frozen and she could face time in prison. The UK Government has followed Azza’s case closely and has highlighted it on several occasions. It has also expressed its concern about the arrests of activists, bloggers and journalists in Egypt.

When the Scottish Parliament was founded, it was written into the Scotland Act 1998 that all its laws must be compatible with the principles of the Human Rights Act 1998. Last year, the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, of which I am a member, carried out an inquiry into embedding human rights in the Parliament’s work so that it complies with those principles. The inquiry gave us the opportunity to meet a range of human rights defenders from all walks of life. We heard from two 11-year-old defenders about work that they had been doing to increase children’s awareness of human rights and how to protect them. Dylan, from the Children’s Parliament, told us about the multiple workshops that he had been leading in schools around Scotland, and his colleague Hannah told us how, on a visit to the UN, she had taken a mural that had been made by children from her school to show their views on their community.

We also heard from defenders in Leith who had used a human rights-based approach to seek improvements in their housing conditions and to realise their human right to an adequate standard of housing. The community had developed a set of human rights indicators to gain action from the local council. The committee’s inquiry was highly informative, and I am glad that we had the opportunity to bring in those brilliant human rights defenders to give us their evidence.

We welcomed the creation of the Scottish human rights defenders fellowship by the Scottish Government and the University of Dundee. The opportunity that the fellowship provides to build relationships and share expertise with Scottish organisations is vital.

I also welcome the support that is provided to human rights defenders by the UK Government through the Magna Carta fund for human rights and democracy. The fund is allocated mostly to projects by human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

In closing, I would like to speak directly to all human rights defenders across the world. You put yourself at great personal risk to protect and promote the rights of others. We thank you for your courage and determination in fighting for human rights. We support you and stand by you, wherever you are in the world.