Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

• African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

  Established by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which came into force on 21 October 1986 after its adoption in NAIROBI (KENYA) in 1981 by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU.), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is charged with ensuring the promotion and protection of Human and Peoples’ Rights throughout the African Continent. The Commission has its headquarters in Banjul, the Gambia.

  http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/news_en.html
  

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• Asian Human Rights Comission

  Asian Human Rights Comission

  http://www.ahrchk.net/index.php
  

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• Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

  CEJIL is a non-governmental, non-profit organization with consultative status before the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN) and observer status before the African Commission of Human Rights. The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) is a non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1991 by a group of prominent human rights defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. CEJIL’s principle objective is to achieve the full implementation of international human rights norms in the member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) through the use of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights and other international protection mechanisms. CEJIL’s mandate is fulfilled through work in three program areas: the Legal Defense Program, the Training and Dissemination Program, and the Campaign to Strengthen the Inter-American System.

  http://www.cejil.org/main.cfm?switch=i
  

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• Council of Europe- General Directorate of Policy Affairs

  Independent non-governmental organisations are a vital component of European society, guaranteeing freedom of expression and association both of which are fundamental to democracy. Recognising their influence, the Council of Europe provides international NGOs with the opportunity to acquire particpatory status.Independent non-governmental organisations are a vital component of European society, guaranteeing freedom of expression and association both of which are fundamental to democracy.On this site, you will find information about this status, what it represents, how to make an application, as well as the structures for co-operation between these NGOs and the Council of Europe, the activities of the 395 or so INGOs which currently enjoy this status.

  http://www.coe.int/T/E/NGO/public/
  

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• Human Rights Council

  Created on march 15, 2006 through the resolution 60/251 of the United Nations General Assembly as a substitution of the former Human Rights Commission.

  http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
  

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• Inter-american comission on human rights

  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is one of two bodies in the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights. The Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The other human rights body is the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which is located in San José, Costa Rica.

  http://www.cidh.org/
  

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• Inter-american comission on human rights - Defenders Unit

  The main task is to receive information on the situation of human rights defenders in the Americas, to maintain contacts with nongovernmental and governmental organizations and to coordinate the work of the Executive Secretariat related to the defenders of human rights in the Americas. Site only in spanish

  http://www.cidh.org/defenders/defensores.htm
  

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• Inter-American Court of Human Rights

  In November 1969 the Inter-American Specialized Conference on Human was held in San José, Costa Rica in which the delegates of the member States of the Organization of the American States adopted the American Convention on Human Rights, which entered into force on July 18 ,1978. In order to safeguard the essentials rights of man in the American continent, the Convention created two organs to promote the observance and protection of human rights: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The first one was created in 1959 and entered into force in 1960 when the Council of the OAS approved its Statute and elected its first members.

  http://www.corteidh.or.cr/index.cfm?&CFID=22492&CFTOKEN=61508008
  

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• The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

  The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is based in Warsaw, Poland. It is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and rule of law.

  http://www.osce.org/odihr/
  

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