Hansard

Human rights defenders across the world show a level of courage and commitment that deserves to be recognised and supported, and I whole-heartedly do so in this chamber on human rights day. No matter their age, gender or nationality, human rights defenders advocate for fundamental rights. Those individuals can promote anything from improved health standards and greater environmental awareness to children’s rights, anti-discrimination measures and the protection of refugees and minorities, among many other concerns.

We witness the continuous activism of human rights defenders to tackle those concerns and we know that the commitment of human rights defenders, through the sensitive nature of their work and advocacy for the sake of others, often comes at an awful cost to themselves. Indeed, in many countries, those who seek to promote human rights face imprisonment, indefensible attacks and persecution. That trend seems only to be worsening. Increasingly, human rights defenders are subject to harassment, surveillance, enforced disappearance and censorship. That is especially the case in countries that lack an effective rule of law, or experience conflict or extensive state restrictions. Human rights organisations have even witnessed a rise in killings. Indeed, last year saw the highest recorded number of human rights defenders murdered. Of particular concern to me has been the targeted attacks against female campaigners. Facing the risk of harassment, smear campaigns and sexual assault, many of those women continue in their work so that they can make their causes as visible as possible, sparking an international push for solutions.

The protection of and commitment to human rights and those who actively defend them is of paramount importance. This is a shared responsibility that we all need to take on, across Parliaments, Governments and communities. Indeed, the UN declaration on human rights defenders states that every person has a responsibility and a duty to safeguard democracy and to not violate but protect the rights of others. Therefore, we need to actively encourage not just vocal support, but practical support for human rights defenders on the ground. I have seen that in my working life, when I worked in Bosnia and Afghanistan and took a great deal of time to see how people who defend the rights of minorities in those countries were harassed.

International groups, such as Front Line Defenders and ProtectDefenders.eu have led the way in this, offering grants and security measures to those worst affected. Their work makes the experiences of human rights defenders real and truly eye-opening. I welcome the strides in support of these human rights defenders here in Scotland. It is particularly pleasing to see the establishment of the Scottish human rights defender fellowship, and I commend the Government for it. The partnership between the Scottish Government and the University of Dundee promises to be an excellent opportunity for participants to spend a semester here in Scotland, sharing expertise with human rights organisations and building relationships. I wish the initiative well.

Furthermore, it is encouraging to see the commitments made by the UK Government. For instance, its paper “UK support for human rights defenders”, released this year, outlined its pledge to create strengthened global standards to protect such individuals, while also providing in-country practical and collaborative support when needed.

This year’s human rights day celebrates the contribution of young people to the human rights movement. Those young human rights defenders can drive the change that we all want to see in the future.

Every human rights defender is deserving of the very security and protection that they advocate on behalf of others. I strongly commend all they do, I welcome Scotland’s renewed commitment to their safety and I support the motion.