Respect and Protect? Exploring the need for the United Nations Human Rights Council to strengthen its response to reprisals

This study will be joint-published as a policy paper later this year with the International Service for Human Rights, and was written thanks to input from a wide range of human rights practitioners working with and at the UN Human Rights Council. It falls among an expanding body of concern on the subject of reprisals against human rights defenders who cooperate with its key mechanisms. In addressing the reliance of Council mechanisms – and indeed the UN’s overarching objectives – on private actors and intermediaries, I contend that it cannot effectively fulfill its mandate without better protecting such persons – and being seen to be doing so. I first look at the nature of the relationship between Council and cooperator, and the Council’s recognition of its risks, before outlining key limitations of the protective system currently available for cooperators within the HRC division. This includes a short analysis of the treatment of the issue within Council proceedings, and the implications of the impression it has so far given to both member states and cooperators. Finally I present a selection of alternative protective strategies used by human rights-related bodies, and recommended by practitioners and academics, to highlight possibilities for exploration and innovation. Originally an academic study, the paper is currently being reviewed and updated in preparation for publishing.  It can be downloaded in its current form (written for the  SOAS Postgraduate Human Rights Law Clinic, as of June 2011) here: UNHRC Reprisals study – Jo Baker