UN Human Rights Council 40th Session
Item 3: Clustered ID with the SR on the situation of human rights defenders and the SR on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
28th February 2019
Intervention by ESTONIA
Mr. President
Estonia aligns itself with the statement by the European Union.
Estonia would like to thank the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders for his report and the presentation today on a very timely and highly relevant topic.
We owe the progress achieved in the field of gender equality to the great extent precisely to women human rights defenders. Therefore it is even more regrettable and unacceptable that, as pointed out by the Special Rapporteur, women (HR) defenders themselves often face risks and obstacles that are gendered, intersectional and shaped by entrenched gender stereotypes and deeply held ideas and norms about who women are and how women should be. We are deeply concerned about the continuing violence, including sexual violence, the risk of femicide, acid attacks, arbitrary arrests, detention, killings and enforced disappearances that women human rights defenders often face.
Mr Forst, could you elaborate more on what could states do to better tackle the gender stereotypes and negative social norms prevalent and deeply embedded in societies around the world, often justified by traditions and cultural norms among others?
Today, a great part of work on the promotion of human rights is conduced online. While noting the opportunities provided by new technologies, we have to pay due attention to avoiding the creation of new non-safe spaces. Women human rights defenders, working online are particularly exposed to cyber violence and sexual harassment, online attacks and increased surveillance. Therefore we need to, as recommended by the SR, to prioritize the protection of women defenders in online spaces and adopt laws, policies and practices accordingly.
Estonia supports civil society, including human rights defenders through the fund of Freedom Online Coalition- Digital Defenders Partnership –which is established to provide rapid response to a range of threats faced by individuals to internet freedom. We also hope to contribute to the better inclusion of civil society in the UN activities through our membership in the UN NGO Committee.
We would also like to thank the Special Rapporteur on torture, Professor Melzer for his latest report and his engagement towards absolute prohibition of torture. We regret that during your visit to Ukraine you were unable to access the whole territory of Ukraine, including Crimea and fully support your recommendation to Russian Federation to allow unimpeded access to the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation for all regional and international human rights bodies to monitor the human rights situation in accordance with their mandates.
Thank you!