Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders

                   We human rights defenders can't let threats about the creation of lies stop us fighting for justice, democracy, political and civil rights. The right to reparation when violations of human rights hapenned is essential part of the justice demanded by the world.  Since the creation of this blog in 2010, its counter of visualizations doesn't work and the same is happening with my YouTube channel since its creation in 2020. For no reason,  I'm being  harmed in so many ways and for so long. Why can I not have a YouTube channel and blog with their counter of visualizations working like everyone else? If you want to know my channel and see a small sample of the huge worldwide movement for justice, democracy and political rights, watch my videos, here is the link   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. This post is a summary of the book with the title above published in December of 2015 at https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/criminalization2016.pdf

                      This report addresses the problem of the misuse of criminal law by State and non-state actors with the aim to criminalize the work of human rights defenders. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has continued to receive alarming reports of a trend indicating that human rights defenders in various contexts are systematically subjected to unfounded criminal proceedings in order to paralyze or delegitimize their causes. This report conceptualizes the phenomenon of criminalization and identifies the contexts and groups of defenders who are most affected by this practice, as well as the actors who usually participate in the processes of criminalization through the misuse of criminal law. Additionally, the IACHR identifies the main forms of criminalization against human rights defenders and the obligations that States must observe in criminal proceedings to prevent them from becoming tools to hinder the defense of human rights. According to information received, the misuse of criminal law most often occurs in contexts where there are tensions or conflicts of interest with the State and non-state actors. The IACHR has also noted that there are certain groups of defenders who have been more frequently the target of these forms of criminalization due to the causes they advance or the content of their demands. The Commission has found that criminalization processes usually begins with the filing of baseless allegations or complaints based on criminal offenses that do not conform to the principle of legality. In recent years, through its continuous monitoring work, the IACHR has noticed a growing actions taken to prevent, obstruct, and discourage the defense of human rights. One of the actions frequently reported to the IACHR is the adoption and misapplication of the law to the detriment of human rights defenders in order to obstruct their activities. Based on these considerations, given that criminal law is the means available to the state for establishing liability for unlawful conduct, this report will focus on the various forms of manipulation of the punitive power, and what the IACHR refers to as the criminalization and misuse of criminal law. Human Rights Defenders are individuals who any way promote the realization of human rights. This concept also covers justice operators as defenders of the access to justice for victims of violations of their rights. The recognition of the right to defend rights has expanded. For its part, the IACHR has emphasized that "the defense of human rights not only serves civil and political rights, but covers the monitoring, reporting, and education of economic and social rights. The IACHR has emphasized that the work of human rights defenders is fundamental for the universal implementation of human rights and for the full existence of democracy and the rule of law. In this regard, the IACHR has recommended that States publicly recognize that the promotion of human rights are legitimate actions and foster a human rights culture in which the role played by human rights defenders in guaranteeing democracy is recognized publicly. Human Rights (HR) defenders have also been victims of criminalization after filing complaints against public officials for alleged corruption or in the pursuit of the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of cases of grave human rights violations and breaches of humanitarian law by State. In this regard, the IACHR has recognized the efforts of the victims, family members, H.R. defenders and civil society organizations and their contribution to the right to the truth regarding human rights violations, as their activity is essential in the search for the right to the truth. The Commission has observed that defenders are often criminalized for the activities they carry out in the defense of human rights and are subject to criminal proceedings that are initiated against them following complaints that come from both State officials and private individuals. They are often accused of crimes defined in a broad or ambiguos manner, contrary to the principle of legality. Judges also participate in criminalizing defenders when they accept processes without evidence or with claims from false witnesses, accelerate processes with the goal to repress the accused defender, issue arrest warrants without sufficient basis, do not respect the guarantee of reasonable time and subject defenders to lengthy proceedings. In any criminal proceeding, clear proof of the guilt is a prerequisite for the criminal sanction, and the burden of proof should lie with the accusing part and not the accused. When justice operators are confronted with accusations and criminal charges that are clearly unfounded, they are obligated to investigate the source of these arbitrary complaints and impose an appropriate sanction. Doing so will also serve to discourage future abuse of the judicial process and waste of judicial resources. The Commission is aware of statements and assertions issued by authorities seeking to delegitimize the work of H.R. defenders, stigmatizing them before society. The IACHR has noted that States have a position as guarantors of the fundamental rights, and therefore the exercise of freedom of expression by public officials is subject to special duties, including the duty to reasonably verify the facts on which their statements are based. Public officials, especially those in the highest positions, have the duty to respect opinions, even when these are contrary to their interests. In this sense, they should actively promote pluralism and tolerance, inherent in a democratic society. This derives from the obligation to protect the human rights of all people and in particular those in situations of risk, as in the case of H.R. defenders who have been threatened. In several countries in the region, H.R. defenders have faced criminal prosecution for exercising their right of free expression after making complaints alleging human rights violations. The Commission has noted with concern that in some countries of the region, criminal offenses of defamation continue to be used to criminalize and punish statements concerning public officials, which has disproportionately affected the work of human rights defenders. In a State in which the reporting of human rights violations is criminalized in order to protect the honor of public officials, citizens lose an essential tool in the fight for the protection of rights, thus greatly affecting the democratic system.