financially assessed, for example, for physical or mental harm, material damage
and costs required for legal or expert assistance or other services. Rehabilitation
should include appropriate medical, psychological legal and social services. Satisfaction may include a variety of measures depending on the circumstances of the
case, such as the following: effective steps to end continuing violations; public
disclosure of the truth; an official declaration or a judicial decision that restores the
dignity, reputation and rights of the victim, their family members or other persons
close to the victim; and a public apology and appropriate sanctions against the perpetrators. Finally, guarantees of non-repetition should include effective preventive
measures.121
Protection policies, programmes and mechanisms
84. The UNGA has repeatedly called on all states “to take all measures necessary to
ensure the protection of human rights defenders, at both the local and national
levels”.122 All such measures should be firmly embedded in a consistent framework
aimed at creating and consolidating a safe and enabling environment for human
rights work in order to tackle the root causes of the serious risks and challenges
that human rights defenders face. An acknowledgment by state officials at the
highest level, as well as by relevant national and local authorities, of the status and
role of human rights defenders and the legitimacy of their work, including through
public statements and prompt condemnation of any attacks, threats and other
abuses as they occur, is a first step towards improved protection and prevention.123
85. In the OSCE region as elsewhere, in the absence of tailored programmes for the
provision of protection measures for human rights defenders at risk, responses
to imminent security threats are reportedly often slow and ineffective. A lack of
co-ordination and lengthy bureaucratic procedures in providing protection measures are frequently compounded by a failure of state officials to treat security
concerns of human rights defenders seriously and an unwillingness to investigate threats and abuses. Insufficient understanding of the problems facing human
rights defenders and of the obligation of states to protect them is often coupled
with a lack of recognition of the importance of their work and of material resources
to provide protection more generally. Consequently, human rights defenders who
are at imminent risk are too often left without adequate assistance, including
physical and psychological protection, assistance in relocating to safe places or
other necessary support.
121 See “Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law”, adopted
and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005, para. 20-24.
122 See UNGA Resolution A/RES/ 64/164, para. 4, and also earlier General Assembly resolutions on human
rights defenders. For further details on the protection of human rights defenders in third countries, see also the
Framework for Implementation section below.
123 See the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, A/HRC/13/22
para. 114.
Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
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