Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development

Sous-comité des droits internationaux de la personne du Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du développement international

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 20, 2019 -

When women human rights defenders take up their work, they do so knowing that they will face heightened risks because of their gender. Women human rights defenders must deal with sexual violence, violence towards their families, and misogynistic attacks on their reputations. The abuse stems from the targets of their activism but also from their own communities and sometimes their own families. They are often let down by state institutions including political institutions and the judiciary. In many places, impunity for crimes committed against women human rights defenders is not an exception, it is the norm. These realities are worse for indigenous and LGBTI women, and all those who face intersecting forms of discrimination.

Concerned about this reality, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (the Subcommittee) undertook a study on women human rights defenders in the spring of 2019. The Subcommittee heard inspiring, often heart-breaking, first-hand accounts from parliamentarians, grassroots activists, indigenous land rights defenders, lawyers, health workers and others fighting for rights in the Middle East, North Africa, the Americas, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Subcommittee extends its utmost gratitude to the courageous individuals who contributed to the study and is proud to make recommendations to the Government of Canada based on the priorities that they identified.

Yesterday, a report based on the Subcommittee’s study, entitled Raising her Voice: Confronting the Unique Challenges Facing Women Human Rights Defenders, was tabled in the House of Commons. The Subcommittee’s study confirmed the urgent need to amplify the voices of women fighting for rights and led to four recommendations based on the priorities identified by witnesses. First, the report recommends that the Government of Canada develop an action plan to mount a comprehensive effort to protect women human rights defenders and promote their work. Such a plan must include provisions for funding and meaningful partnerships, measures for emergency relocation, and empowering diplomatic missions to monitor and protect women human rights defenders, including by developing evaluation metrics to complement Canada’s recently updated guidelines on protecting human rights defenders. The action plan should go hand in hand with bilateral and multilateral engagement towards combatting impunity and supporting justice reform. Efforts must also be made to ensure that Canadian businesses respect human rights with the help of the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise. Finally, the Subcommittee recommends that the Government of Canada’s foreign policy choices be consistent with the goal of promoting women human rights defenders’ participation in public life and institutions.

Quotes

“Women human rights defenders play fundamental roles in fostering of dignity and peace despite the very many hardships they face. None of the hard-fought gains made by these courageous women can be permitted to slip away. Canada and the international community must ensure that any regression with respect to human rights and the treatment of women human rights defenders is not tolerated.”

-Anita Vandenbeld, M.P., Chair

“The women human rights defenders we heard from are examples of true grit and resilience. It is essential that their work, and the work or women human rights defenders worldwide, receive both due recognition and support.”

-David Sweet, M.P., Vice-Chair

“The struggle for human rights cannot be done alone. Support to women human rights defenders from countries like Canada is essential for the well-being of rights defenders and for strong and sustained campaigns.”

-Cheryl Hardcastle, M.P., Vice-Chair