2. GENERAL HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS WITH RELEVANCE TO THE
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
OSCE human dimension commitments
OSCE participating States have adopted a large number of politically binding commitments relating to what has become known as the human dimension of the OSCE’s
comprehensive security concept. Human dimension commitments with relevance to
the work of human rights defenders include commitments on non-governmental organizations, freedom of expression, free media and information, freedom of movement,
rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, the prohibition of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, freedom from arbitrary arrest
and detention, the right to a fair trial and the right to effective remedies, among others.
In the Budapest Document of 1994, in the context of the drafting of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, participating States specifically emphasized the need
for protection of human rights defenders (Budapest Document: Towards a Genuine
Partnership in a New Era (Summit of Heads of State or Government), 1994, Decisions:
VIII. The Human Dimension).
For a thematic and chronological compilation of all OSCE human dimension
commitments see: <http://www.osce.org/odihr/76894> and <http://www.osce.
org/odihr/elections/76895>.
Universal and regional human rights treaties relevant to the protection of human
rights defenders
For the text of the universal and regional human rights treaties that are also relevant to
the protection of human rights defenders and the exercise of the right to defend human
rights, see the links below.
United Nations:
• Core international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), among others: <http://www.ohchr.
org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CoreInstruments.aspx>.
• The jurisprudence and concluding observations of the United Nations treaty bodies monitoring implementation of the core international human rights treaties
can be searched at: <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/
TBSearch.aspx?Lang=en>.
(For a non-exhaustive list of universal human rights instruments, by subject matter,
including non-treaty standards, see also: <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/UniversalHumanRightsInstruments.aspx>).
Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
137
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