Humanists International highlights civil society repression and human rights backsliding at the UN

In a statement delivered at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Humanists International highlighted the repression faced by Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) from organized transnational anti-rights movements made up of States and non-state actors.

The statement was delivered by the organization’s Advocacy and Research Officer, Mythili Mishra. It noted the shrinking space for civil society to safely engage with the United Nations, concluding that we are living in an era of significant backlash against human rights.

Mythili Mishra delivers the statement at the UN Human Rights Council

HRDs working on gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and LGBTI+ rights, the statement argued, are some of the most targeted for their advocacy. Opposition from organized transnational movements, made up of States and non-state actors, has relied on a variety of justifications to repress HRDs. Legal arguments prioritizing the traditional heteropatriarchal family, exclusionary interpretations of culture and tradition, parental or family rights, as well as demographic preservation, foreign agent laws, and the misuse of counterterrorism laws are some examples.

Humanists International brought the Council’s attention specifically to the instrumentalization and weaponization of the right to freedom of religion or belief to undermine the rights of gender and sexual minorities. For example, religious freedom and traditional values have been used to undermine gender equality, SRHR, bodily autonomy, access to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), and freedom of expression, amongst other rights.

This intervention follows Humanists International longstanding advocacy efforts against anti-rights actors and movements as well as the backlash against human rights, at the UN as well as at other international institutions.

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