International Campaign on Women Human Rights Defenders

The campaign emphasises that women fighting for human rights and for women's human rights are in fact human rights defenders and that those working in human rights movement also have gender-specific protection concerns that need to be addressed. The Campaign also focus on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists, who are also targeted because of their gender identity and the rights they are fighting to uphold. Under the broad theme "Defending Women Defending Rights", this initiative is ongoing, but is heightened in intensity each year between November 25 (International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women) and December 18 (International Day of Migrants) to symbolise both women's history of activism and resistance, as well as the involvement of women migrants' rights activists in this cross-sectoral initiative.

The campaign is open to all individuals or groups, anywhere around the world, working in any profession. Although the focus is deliberately on women, men committed to advancing women's rights are welcome. Participation is, in fact, the hallmark of this activist effort. Organisers encourage people to get involved by:

• Organising an activity in one's community or locality
• Adding the calls of this campaign to an existing campaign and into ongoing activities
• Meeting with and lobbying government officials, human rights commissions, and other agencies to address the concerns of WHRDs
• Issuing statements and/or press releases on the issue
• Linking with other groups (women, peasants, labour, indigenous, youth, etc.) at the international, regional, national, or local level to share information on the campaign and develop and undertake collective action
• Circulating action alerts on persecution of WHRDs
• Identifying existing or new mechanisms for protection of WHRDs
• Joining the Postcard Campaign (November 25- December 18) - activists who visit the campaign website may download an electronic version of a postcard that features images of women from different cultures holding signs demanding that WHRDs be protected. Participants are encouraged to put their logo on the postcard, translate the calls on the postcard into their local language, and reproduce and distribute as many copies as needed for either electronic or hard-copy mailing. Specifically, participants are asked to:
  1. identify two women or women's groups or communities (for instance, sex workers, Dalits, indigenous peoples, HIV-positive women, women working on sexual and reproductive rights issues, etc.) who are WHRDs and are being persecuted or are facing risks - and why
  2. write, on the back of the postcard, a short profile of the WHRDs who are at risk or are being persecuted (including the reason behind their persecution) and send a copy of the postcard to all or any of the following:
     • the President of their country
     • the National Human Rights Commission of their country
     • the local Member of Parliament or a political representative of their province/locality
     • the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, at the address provided in the Contact section below (organisers will send all the postcards to her)
     • women's groups and any other groups.

Those who commit to carry out any of the above-mentioned activities will be named a "co-sponsor" of this campaign; their activities will be shared on the ICWHRD website.

Prominent personnel have lent their voices to shape and support the work of ICWHRD. In November 2005, for example, nearly 200 activists from approximately 70 countries worldwide gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a global gathering of WHRDs. The consultation meeting was attended by the First Lady of Sri Lanka, Shiranthi Rajapakse; furthermore, Hina Jilani (UN Special Representative to the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders), gave the keynote speech. The presence of these personnel was intended not to overshadow but, rather, to help highlight the sharing of participants' own experiences with, and practical strategies for addressing, the challenges faced by WHRDs in their political organising efforts. The consultation culminated in the declaration of November 29 as International Women Human Rights Defenders Day; the first such "Day" was celebrated in 2006, and will be each year, hereafter.

The Human Rights Defenders declaration adopted by the United Nations in December 1998 focuses on the right to defend human rights as a right in itself. However, according to organisers, the situation for all human rights defenders is alarming due to a confluence of factors including increasing militarisation, terrorism and the "war on terror", poverty, national security laws, and the rise of extreme right political forces. Organisers say that, while WHRDs face repression and persecution at par with their male colleagues, their vulnerabilities are greater due to: (i) gender-specific vulnerabilities and violations like sexual harassment and sexual violence, (ii) work on issues that may invite backlash or retaliation (e.g., women's sexual rights and work in the domains of culture and religion), (iii) additional violators (partners, husbands, and/or male colleagues).