Intimidation and reprisals for cooperation with…

"I am particularly concerned at the body of evidence pointing to growing self-censorship by victims and civil society actors who decide not to engage with the United Nations, both in the field and at Headquarters, out of fear for their safety or in contexts where human rights work is criminalized or publicly vilified." – UN Secretary-General António Guterres (A/HRC/42/30, para. 80) The annual report of the Secretary-General on "Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights" identifies trends and cases of intimidation and reprisals which undermine individual and group participation at the UN. In 2016 the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr. Andrew Gilmour, was designated to lead UN efforts to prevent and address this issue. Please join us for a discussion which examines risks and trends of the last three years facing people engaging or seeking to engage with the UN on human rights, with a focus on the experiences of women, indigenous and environmental human rights defenders. Speakers: • Mr. Andrew Gilmour, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights • Mr. Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders • Ms. Sherine Tadros, UN Representative & Head of NY Office, Amnesty International • Member State representatives • Discussants from civil society organizations.