Resources for HRDs

Workbook on Security:
Practical Steps for
Human Rights Defenders at Risk

The Front Line Defenders Workbook on Security has been inspired by the hundreds of HRDs from over 50 countries who have attended Front Line Defenders workshops on security and protection. These HRDs have been able to continue their work because they have taken steps to manage their security. They have assessed their situation in a systematic way and developed strategies and tactics which best suit their unique environment.

The United Nations Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention:
Commentary & Guide to Practice

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is the first comprehensive review of the contributions of this important institution to understanding arbitrary detention today. The Working Group is a body of five independent human rights experts that considers individual complaints of arbitrary detention, adopting legal opinions as to whether a detention is compatible with states’ obligations under international law. Since its establishment in 1991, it has adopted more than 1,200 case opinions and conducted more than fifty country missions. But much more than a jurisprudential review, these cases are presented in the book in the style of a treatise, where the widest array of issues on arbitrary detention are placed in the context of the requirements of multilateral treaties and other relevant international standards. Written for both practitioners and serious scholars alike, this book includes five case studies and a foreword by Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu.

The European Union:
What it Can Do,
Getting it to Take Action

While the EU and its Member States can contribute to the protection of HRDs, HRDs might not know exactly when they should seek help from the EU, what they can expect from it, or how to approach it. This handbook is meant to address this need and shows HRDs the specific actions they can expect from the EU in meeting their protection needs, and how they can approach the EU for assistance.

Trial Observation Handbook
for Human Rights Defenders

This handbook is designed to enable trial observers to accurately report on trial proceedings and contribute to the protection of HRDs facing prosecution by highlighting injustice and the lack of due process. The presence of trial observers sends a clear message that the right to a fair trial in which all the evidence can be heard and examined without prejudice is a fundamental human right.

Protection Handbook
for Human Rights Defenders

This handbook is intended to give HRDs practical advice on how to deal with the threats, intimidation and attacks, which they may have to deal with in their work as human rights defenders.

What Protection Can United Nations
Field Presences Provide?

This guide gives an outline of what UN agencies can do locally to provide protection for human rights defenders. It aims to give practical and helpful suggestions on how to engage constructively with the UN. It is also meant to encourage UN agencies and UN officials to implement their commitments to human rights and human rights defenders.

Gendering Documentation Manual

A publication of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, this manual is motivated by the courageous activism of people—and in particular, women—around the world who dare to resist, to fight for what we believe is right, and to put our lives on the line for justice, accountability and fairness.