The Issue

Some States are using travel bans to punish and silence human rights defenders who dare to speak out at the United Nations. These acts of reprisal — from confiscating passports to unjustly labeling activists as terrorists — are designed to isolate, intimidate, and silence voices demanding accountability and justice.  A travel ban may be less visible than a prison cell, but its impact is no less damaging. It prevents defenders from attending UN meetings, carrying out their work, reuniting with loved ones, or seeking safety.

This is the lived reality for: 

• Loujain Al-Hathloul (Saudi Arabia), a prominent women’s rights defender who remains under a travel ban after years of arbitrary detention. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/11/06/loujain-al-hathloul-and-her-health-singled-out-by-cedaw/]
• Mohamed El-Baqer (Egypt), who, though pardoned after being unjustly detained for 5 years, is still listed on a terrorist list and barred from travelling.
• Anexa Alfred Cunningham (Nicaragua), an Indigenous leader who was banned from returning to her country and her land.
• Kadar Abdi Ibrahim (Djibouti), whose passport was confiscated in 2018, preventing him from leaving the country or continuing his vital work. [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/02/16/kadar-abdi-ibrahim-human-rights-defender-from-djibouti/]

These are not isolated cases — they are part of a pattern of reprisals meant to silence dissent and deter others from engaging with the UN.  

What the International Service for Human Rights demand is: 

• The lifting of travel bans and restrictions against Loujain, Mohamed, Anexa, and Kadar. 
• The inclusion of their cases in the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on reprisals. This is the first step to recognise they are cases of reprisals which need to be addressed and resolved. 
• Concrete action from States to publicly condemn and raise these cases at the Human Rights Council and General Assembly.  
  According to our research, we found that more publicity and peer-pressure bring more probability for the reprisal case to be resolved (i.e. here, for the bans to be lifted). 
• The establishment of clear UN protocols to prevent and respond to acts of reprisal. 

You can help us achieve our goals:  

The first step, is for the Secretary-General to include these cases in his reprisals report. You can contribute by:

 Signing our petition to the UN Secretary-General to ensure Loujain, Mohamed, Anexa, and Kadar are included.

Together, we can #EndReprisals.

Find out more about the campaign.https://www.change.org/p/their-voices-defend-human-rights-travel-bans-silence-them-endreprisals

https://www.change.org/p/their-voices-defend-human-rights-travel-bans-silence-them-endreprisals

This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.