AEPF Parliamentarians Network collaborating with the Participatory Democracy working group with the Communications Team.
Webinar Series on ‘Right to Dissent is at the Heart of Democracies’

Watch the Webinar

Download ‘Human Rights Defenders Bill’ by Senator De Lima
Download ‘Defend the Defenders’ by Mae Ocampo 

Right to Dissent is at the Heart of Democracies

The right to dissent is at the heart of democracies and impacts every other right. Defenders of rights who break the silence to protect the climate, the environment, stand to defend land rights, lead protests for labour and women’s rights, for social justice are on the frontlines today. They feel the wrath of corporates, states, private militia, threats and public attacks. They face incarceration, legal cases, physical attacks and harm to their families. These rights defenders’ and their families often have to face this alone as civil society as institutional mechanisms have been increasingly been hollowed out nationally and globally.

It is in this context that the AEPF with the Parliamentarians Network along with the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights organised the third webinar in the series on the Right to Dissent. This webinar aimed to build coalitions of support for Rights Defender’s including environmental, women’s, labour, land and human rights defenders’.

Aims and objectives of this webinar:

• To present the context of people’s experiences from Asia and Europe
• Enable presentations and exchanges between representatives of organisations who are trying to protect Rights Defenders and advocate for a range of rights already enshrined and confirmed in national and international law. They would be encouraged to share their practice, challenges and positive initiatives.
• Enable presentations and exchanges between representatives of organisations who are trying to promote and take forward strengthening of legislation/laws at national and, where possible, regional levels. They would be encouraged to share the examples of what they are doing/trying to do, their challenges and, where appropriate, progress.
• Acknowledge the pressure that individuals face and the solidarity and support we need to give them because of the harm, fear, isolation and vulnerability they face for being a dissenter, and especially a female dissenter.
• Link parliamentarians, international networks and organisations and movements globally to better collaborate – to better ‘Defend the Defenders’.

 The objective is to strategize with Rights Defenders’, Parliamentarians, jurists and others on how to take forward our campaign on this critical issue of our times.