UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders 1998

Summary

UNGA Declaration affirming the right of individuals and groups to promote and protect human rights, to form associations, to criticise government policy, to seek international support for their human rights work, and to communicate with international bodies. A UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders monitors the Declaration's implementation.

Relevance to the diaspora

Tamil diaspora human rights defenders — including those who document war crimes, advocate at the UN Human Rights Council, or lobby foreign governments — are explicitly protected by this Declaration; states that harass or criminalise Tamil diaspora activists violate its norms.

Key provisions

• Art. 5(b) — right to form, join and participate in associations and organisations
• Art. 5(c) — right to communicate with international bodies
• Art. 9 — right to seek and receive funding for human rights work
• Art. 12 — protection against reprisals for human rights activities
• Art. 13 — right to receive and disseminate information on human rights

Primary source

Related entries

• → ICCPR Articles 19, 21, 22 — Expression, Assembly and Association (UN)
• → European Convention on Human Rights — Articles 10, 11 (Expression and Assembly) (ECHR)
• → Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and Protocol 1967 (UN)