{"id":1479739,"date":"2024-02-03T08:36:17","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T08:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/?p=26005"},"modified":"2024-02-03T08:36:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T08:36:17","slug":"ngos-support-proposed-us-law-to-protect-human-rights-defenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/02\/03\/ngos-support-proposed-us-law-to-protect-human-rights-defenders\/","title":{"rendered":"NGOs support proposed US Law to Protect Human Rights Defenders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On 31 January 2024 several NGOs – including HRW and AI -came out in support of a bill in the US Senate. Senator Ben Cardin introduced the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act of 2024, which aims to protect individuals abroad \u201cwho face reprisals for defending human rights and democracy.\u201d The law, if enacted, would strengthen the US government\u2019s ability to \u201cprevent, mitigate, and respond\u201d to such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Cardin said<\/a> this legislation \u201cwill help elevate, guide, and enhance US efforts to support these courageous individuals globally at a time when their efforts are more important than ever.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRW said: The bill would integrate support for rights defenders into various US policies and programs and encourage engagement with the private sector. It aims to improve assistance for rights defenders living in exile from their home countries and strengthen US tools to hold perpetrators of rights abuses accountable.<\/em> Human Rights Watch has long documented the risks, threats, and attacks that rights defenders across the globe face. In Rwanda, for example, the government for many years has targeted with impunity rights defenders at home and extended its repression<\/a> beyond its borders to silence Rwandan critics living abroad. Last December, the Emirati government brought new charges<\/a> under its counterterrorism law against 87 activists and dissidents, including imprisoned rights defender Ahmed Mansoor<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed legislation would create a new US visa for rights defenders who face a \u201ccredible fear of an urgent threat,\u201d allowing those who qualify to reach safety before they are detained or harmed. It would also increase the number of US government personnel dedicated to democracy and human rights issues in the federal government and at embassies in countries with a high risk of rights abuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Fandino, Advocacy Director for the Individuals at Risk Program at Amnesty International USA. stated: \u201cThe Human Rights Defenders Protection Act of 2024 is a critical piece of legislation that will help strengthen and improve the U.S. government\u2019s ability to support human rights defenders around the world,\u201d<\/em> ..\u201cWith over 401 human rights defenders killed globally in 2022 alone, now more than ever, human rights defenders need this additional support and protecti<\/em>on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If passed, the legislation would require the US government to establish a \u201cGlobal Strategy for Human Rights Defenders.\u201d The strategy would survey current tools and resources to support human rights, identify how the government would prioritize and bolster protections for rights defenders, and establish specific goals for implementing the legislation\u2019s policy objectives. This would link to the existing EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders<\/a> (2008), and the OSCE Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders<\/a> (2014) and those of a small group of European countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.amnestyusa.org\/press-releases\/amnesty-international-usa-supports-legislation-that-ensures-u-s-support-and-protections-for-human-rights-defenders-around-the-world<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2024\/01\/31\/proposed-us-law-would-protect-human-rights-defenders<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.foreign.senate.gov\/press\/dem\/release\/chair-cardin-speaks-in-support-of-courageous-human-rights-defenders-around-the-world<\/a><\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 31 January 2024 several NGOs \u2013 including HRW and AI -came out in support of a bill in the US Senate. Senator Ben Cardin introduced the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act of 2024, which aims to protect individuals abroad \u201cwho face reprisals for defending human rights and democracy.\u201d The law, if enacted, would strengthen [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1643,1437,1168,73669,73670,72267,16957,38529,1473,6,1424,2097,4,1594,6139],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1479739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1479740,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479739\/revisions\/1479740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1479739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1479739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1479739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}