PBI-Canada looks to PBI-UK joint pre-election statement on what politicians can do to support human rights defenders

Published by Brent Patterson on September 19, 2024

Photo: The Palace of Westminster in London, England that houses the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The next federal election in Canada will take place on or before October 20, 2025.

While it is perhaps unlikely that the Trudeau government will fall next week, his minority government will face a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday September 25.

With an election on the near- or mid-term horizon, we look to a statement signed by PBI-United Kingdom and multiple other organizations in the lead-up to the general election that took place in the UK on July 4 of this year.

That statement says, in part:

“As recognised by the UK government, Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) are agents of change who can ensure the sustainable impact of a range of UK foreign policy priorities. HRDs are experts in their communities whose objectives often mirror those of any progressive foreign policy: combating the climate crisis, upholding free speech and the rule of law, tackling poverty, and empowering women.

Environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders have consistently been at the forefront of proposals to tackle the climate crisis. In Latin America and the Caribbean, civil society organisations played a crucial role in the negotiation, adoption and ratifications of the 2021 Escazú Agreement, the first regional environmental human rights treaty.

[It is] in the UK’s strategic interest to support and partner with HRDs, including Indigenous communities, trade unionists, journalists and civil society groups, contributing to the protection they need to work safely.

What politicians can do

In 2021, our organisations published On the Human Rights Frontline – How the UK government can defend the defenders. We made the case for – and proposed a draft version of – a UK government strategy to promote civic space and improve support and protection for HRDs.

UK politicians should prioritise gathering inputs from across UK and global civil society to ensure that this strategy is effective, and includes the components we have called for since 2021: Implementing effective diplomatic strategies to recognise and protect defenders; Transforming the nature and scale of funding for civil society to be sustainable & flexible; Developing protection mechanisms, respite schemes and rapid response support.”

The 5-page statement and list of signatories can be read at: On the Human Rights Frontline: How the UK government can defend the defenders.