In recent years several governments have developed specific national mechanisms to protect defenders, all of them in countries seriously lacking in protection for human rights defenders. These mechanisms (laws, action policies, offices) have been established under pressure from (and with the cooperation of) national and international human rights organisations, with essential legal support from the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

At Protection International, this development has led us to study these national initiatives: what are they and what do they consist of? How did they come about, how do they work and what is their impact on the protection of defenders? We set up a study group (made up of protection lawyers and experts) and carried out a large number of interviews with men and women defenders as well as government officials in 16 countries on three continents.

Find the original document here in English, Spanish and French (Protection International).