Human rights defenders

The struggle for human rights in Pakistan would not be where it is without the continuous efforts of human rights defenders throughout the country, irrespective of their region, ethnicity, class or religion. Human rights defenders point out repressive state structures that pose ethical violations to a functioning democracy, or work for the betterment of their own communal networks through various types of activism. However, there is a long history of suppressing human rights defenders in Pakistan in order to maintain the status quo, such that this group has become increasingly vulnerable to prejudice, exclusion and public repudiation.

HRCP has time and time again spoken against this suppression and targeting, be it of a single individual human rights defender, or of a social movement aiming to uplift society. The integrity and inviolability of human rights defenders must be respected; in other words, their safety and security are of paramount importance in a society that is increasingly becoming steeped in such a rigid culture of ultra-nationalism that any voices that dare to challenge the dominant narrative are targeted and stamped out. Moreover, the security of defenders at risk is inherently linked to the securities of their communities.

HRCP recognizes the risks faced by human rights defenders whose work challenges oppressive social structures, economic interests or traditional practices, and repeatedly calls for the creation of mechanisms to protect these activists from the very real threat and danger they face by various social, private and state actors.