This document is the result of a series of meetings convened by the Espacio de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil para la Protección de Personas Defensoras de Derechos Humanos y Periodistas since 2018 in the cities of Mexico and Oaxaca to discuss the generation of public policies for the right to defend rights, as well as to study and analyze the complexity of situations of violence and protection needs in each of the respective local contexts.

The main result of this discussion process is that a new paradigm of protection that recognizes human rights defenders and journalists as subjects of rights and not only objects of protection is needed; a paradigm of protection that implies the generation of a broader public policy aimed at guaranteeing both life and personal integrity, as well as the exercise of the right to defend human rights and the right to freedom of expression.

The document includes a systematization of normative frameworks, a brief description of the context of human rights defenders and journalists, a list of problems that should be periodically updated, and a series of strategies, objectives, and guidelines to be implemented. Moreover, the final section describes a series of general guidelines for their development, as well as procedures for follow-up, which, given the imminent need and urgency of reversing the situation of violence faced by human rights defenders and journalists, it is hoped, will be taken into account by government agencies.

This document was made possible with the technical contribution of Protection International.

Find the original publication here in English, French, Spanish, Catalan (Espacio OSC).