As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1 – Building an Action Plan to Support Women Human Rights Defenders

That the Government of Canada develop an action plan to:

• establish processes and procedures for expediting emergency visas for women human rights defenders and their families when they are in imminent danger;
• ensure that infrastructure and resources are in place to be ready to assist in temporarily relocating women human rights defenders and their families into Canada or other countries;
• study and report on international best practices regarding the temporary or permanent relocation of women human rights defenders and their families when they are under threat or in imminent danger;
• enhance measures to support women human rights defenders and their organizations abroad, including through core funding and funding for locally-developed training programs;
• establish indicators for evaluating women-led civil society organizations’ ability to operate freely, proactively monitor their status, and raise the cases of at-risk individuals or organizations with governments and other partners, as appropriate;
• enhance, through diplomatic missions, efforts to identify and partner with women’s human rights organizations that can use Canadian support through measures such as funding or advocacy; and
• develop an information campaign to raise international awareness about the programs and assistance that Canada offers to support women human rights defenders.

In developing and implementing this action plan, the Government of Canada should continually consult and coordinate with the international community, including but not limited to, the United Nations, regional organizations, like-minded states and other partners.

Recommendation 2—Combatting Impunity

That Global Affairs Canada engage bilaterally and multilaterally to combat impunity for human rights violations against women human rights defenders.

Recommendation 3—Promoting Respect for Human Rights in the Private Sector

That Global Affairs Canada act decisively to ensure that Canadian businesses respect human rights abroad, particularly through the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise.

Recommendation 4—Seizing All Opportunities to Support Women Human Rights Defenders through Canadian Diplomacy

That the Government of Canada ensure that all foreign policy choices are consistent with the goal of facilitating women human rights defenders’ participation in public discourse, political processes including conflict resolution, as well as national and international institutions.