On May 8th, 2014, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the appointment of Michel Forst as the new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
Protection International warmly welcomes the appointment of Mr Forst as the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. PI Board President, Enrique Eguren added: “Mr. Forst’s extensive experience in human rights work, as a defender himself, is one of the best guarantees for his tenure as Special Rapporteur”.
“We look forward to working closely with Mr. Forst, as we did with former Special Rapporteurs, Ms Hina Jilani and Ms Margaret Sekaggya. As we see every day during our work with Human Rights Defenders in many countries, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur is becoming more and more important. Currently, HRDs working in defense of the environment and communities all around the world, face growing pressure not only from States and non-state armed actors but also from corporations and private security companies”, said Eguren.