1.
Foster a culture of human rights in which the fundamental role played by human
rights defenders in guaranteeing democracy and the rule of law is recognized
publicly and unequivocally. The commitment to this policy should be reflected
at every level of the state – local, state or provincial, and national – and in
every branch of government – executive, legislative, and judicial.
2.
Publicly recognize that the exercise of the protection and promotion of human
rights is a legitimate action and that, on exercising these actions, human
rights defenders are not working against state institutions, but rather, to the
contrary, are contributing to the strengthening of the rule of law and the
expansion of all persons’ rights and guarantees. All state authorities and
officials at the local level should be aware of the principles regarding the
activities of human rights defenders and their protection, as well as the
guidelines applicable to the observance of those principles.
3.
Undertake activities for education and dissemination for all state agents,
society at large, and the press, to raise awareness about the importance and
validity of the work of human rights defenders and their organizations. The
Commission calls on the states to promote and widely disseminate the Declaration
on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to
Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms. The Commission also calls on the states to design a program of
specific measures to implement the Declaration.
4.
Instruct their authorities to ensure that, from the highest level, forums for
open dialogue are generated with human rights organizations to learn of both
their opinions on public policies and the problems that beset them.
5.
Implement, as a priority matter, a comprehensive policy of protection for human
rights defenders. Adopt an effective and exhaustive strategy of prevention in
order to prevent attacks against human rights defenders. This requires granting
appropriate funds and political support to the institutions and programs. This
policy of prevention and protection should take into account the periods when
they are most vulnerable. The state authorities should remain vigilant
especially during those periods and make public their commitment of support and
protection.
6.
Urgently adopt effective measures to protect the life and physical integrity of
human rights defenders who are threatened, and to ensure that these measures are
decided on in consultation with the defenders. Ensure the security of trade
union leaders, community and campesino leaders, indigenous leaders, and judicial
officers in the performance of their activities. In those countries in which the
attacks on these actors are more systematic and numerous, the states should
earmark all the resources needed and spelled out in this recommendation to
prevent harm to the life and physical integrity of these leaders.
7.
Guarantee in particular the security of women human rights defenders whenever
they are at risk of attack through specific mechanisms because of their gender,
and to undertake measures to obtain recognition of the importance of their role
within the movement to defend human rights.
8.
Allocate human, budgetary, and logistical resources to implement the adequate
measures of protection sought by the Inter-American Commission or the
Inter-American
Court
9.
Illegal armed groups are among the main perpetrators of violence against human
rights defenders. States must implement a serious policy to investigate,
prosecute, and punish all of the actors involved, not only their armed members,
but also those who promote, direct, support, or finance such groups or
participate in them.
10.
The governments should not tolerate any effort on the part of state authorities
to cast in doubt the legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders and their
organizations. Public officials must refrain from making statements that
stigmatize human rights defenders or that suggest that human rights
organizations act improperly or illegally, merely because of engaging in their
work to promote and protect human rights. Governments should given precise
instructions to their officials in this respect and should impose disciplinary
sanctions on those who do not comply with such instructions.
11.
The states should ensure that their authorities or third persons will not
manipulate the punitive power of the state and its organs of justice in order to
harass those who are dedicated to legitimate activities, such as human rights
defenders. The Commission reiterates that the states have the duty to
investigate those who violate the law within their territory, but the states
also have the obligation to take the measures needed to ensure that state
investigations are not used to bring unjust and unfounded criminal proceedings
against persons who legitimately call for respect and protection of human
rights.
12.
Adopt mechanisms to prevent the excessive use of force during public
demonstrations, through planning, prevention, and investigation measures that
follow, among others, the guidelines set forth in paragraph 68
herein.
13.
Refrain from engaging in any type of arbitrary or abusive meddling in the home
or offices of the organizations of human rights defenders, or in their
correspondence and telephone and electronic communications. Instruct the
authorities affiliated with the state security agencies to respect these rights,
and impose disciplinary and criminal sanctions on those who engage in such
practices.
14.
Revise the premises and procedures governing intelligence-gathering activities
targeting human rights defenders and their organizations to ensure due
protection of their rights. To this end, the implementation of a mechanism for
periodic, independent review of such archives is recommended.
15.
Allow and facilitate the access of defenders, and the general public, to public
information held by the state, as well as private information about them. The
state should establish an expedited, independent, and effective mechanism for
this that includes review by civilian authorities of decisions taken by the
security forces to deny access to information.
16.
Ensure that the procedure for entering human rights organizations in the public
registries will not impede their work and that it will have a declaratory and
not constitutive effect. The states should guarantee that the registry of the
organizations will be processed quickly and that only the documents needed to
obtain the information appropriate for registering will be required. Domestic
laws should clearly establish the maximum time frames for state authorities to
answer requests for registration.
17.
Refrain from promoting laws and policies regarding the registration of human
rights organizations that use vague, imprecise, and broad definitions of the
legitimate motives for restricting their establishment and operation.
18.
Ensure that the human rights organizations whose registrations are rejected have
available to them a remedy to challenge that decision before an independent
court. The states should also ensure an impartial remedy for situations in
which organizations’ registration is suspended or they are dissolved.
19.
Refrain from restricting the means of financing of human rights organizations.
The states should allow and facilitate human rights organizations’ access to
foreign funds in the context of international cooperation, in transparent
conditions.
20.
Guarantee effective administrative and legal measures for the protection of
union delegates, including mainstream and minority unions and those in
formation, against discrimination and harassment associated with carrying out
their functions.
21.
Undertake, as a matter of public policy, the struggle against impunity for
violations of the rights of human rights defenders. The Commission calls on the
states to undertake exhaustive and independent investigations into the attacks
suffered by human rights defenders, and to punish their perpetrators, as a
fundamental means of preventing such attacks.
22.
Strengthen their mechanisms for the administration of justice and guarantee
their independence, which is necessary if they are to perform their function of
investigating, prosecuting, and punishing those who carry out attacks on human
rights. It is essential, for such strengthening, that the states guarantee a
sufficient budget and human resources adequate for ensuring effective
administration of justice.
23.
Take the necessary steps to ensure adequate and clear coordination within the
institutional spheres of jurisdiction for the investigation and prosecution of
crimes against human rights defenders who are discredited due to their
activities. Establish specialized units of the police and public ministry with
the necessary resources and training to act in a coordinated fashion and respond
with due diligence in investigating attacks on human rights defenders.
24.
Ensure that the military courts not have jurisdiction to investigate and
prosecute members of the military who commit crimes against human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
25.
Create and strengthen legal mechanisms for effective precautionary remedies in
situations of imminent threat or risk for the defense of human rights that
adhere to the characteristics set forth by the Commission in paragraphs 120 and
121 herein.
26.
Provide as necessary to promptly and effectively comply with the recommendations
of the Inter-American Commission and the judgments of the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights.
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