GANHRI Chairperson H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah addressing General Assembly of the Global Alliance in Geneva.
DOHA: Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah has said that national human rights institutions around the world are facing enormous and serious challenges.
She revealed a survey conducted by the GANHRI in 2024 suggested that national human rights institutions in all regions reported serious threats to their members, as well as to other human rights defenders.
Al Attiyah was speaking in the opening ceremony of the General Assembly of the Global Alliance, which took place at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.
She said: “These institutions reported in the survey that human rights defenders and their staff were subjected to numerous violations, including arbitrary arrests, detention, and prosecution; campaigns of harassment, intimidation, and defamation; kidnappings and threats to individuals’ physical safety; restrictions on freedom of expression, including in online spaces; as well as budget cuts and the imposition of restrictive laws.”
Al Attiyah added: “Furthermore, these institutions reported that they were also subjected to intimidation and reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations or regional human rights systems.”
She said that the GANHRI report on reprisals includes a set of recommendations to address these threats, including building the capacity of members of national human rights institutions and human rights defenders, enhancing regional and international cooperation to exchange good practices, and forging strategic partnerships with human rights partners.
Al Attiyah called for global, regional, and local levels support for the protection of members of national institutions who are in dire need of such support.
She said: “Establishing and deepening partnerships and cooperation in support of national human rights institutions is of paramount importance, especially at the present time. These institutions cannot be effective in defending human rights unless they are strong, supported, and protected from any threats to their independence, something they cannot do alone.”
Al Attiyah explained that the Global Alliance has expanded its engagement with United Nations bodies to support the implementation of the Kyiv-Copenhagen Declaration and strengthen the work of national human rights institutions to prevent and address torture and ill-treatment.
GANHRI Chairperson added: “It is time to continue our unequivocal call for the absolute prohibition of torture, at all times and in all places.”
Regarding the rights of women and persons with disabilities, Al Attiyah said: “Despite some notable progress in many areas, thirty years after the declaration of global commitments on women’s rights in Beijing, women suffer from higher rates of poverty than men in most parts of the world."
