Abstrakt
Human rights defenders and whistleblowers are increasingly vulnerable to human rights abuses by states and non-state actors due to the activities in which they engage (promotion and protection of human rights, exposure of illegal or unethical behaviour). The chapter shows that international law is neither indifferent to nor ignorant of the special needs that these persons have but that the legal protection needs to be strengthened.
The first part introduces the concepts of human rights defenders and of whistleblowers. It provides a definition of the two concepts and makes a comparison between them.
The second part explores how the increased vulnerability of human rights defenders and whistleblowers manifests itself both in their private life and in the public space. The third part discusses how international law has responded to this increased vulnerability and identifies certain gaps in such responses.
It draws attention to the fact that the protection of human rights defenders and whistleblowers has so far been granted through two separate, albeit overlapping tracks, one consisting of legal instruments (such as the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders or the 2019 EU Whistleblower Protection Directive), the other of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. The chapter suggests that the two tracks should be brought more closely together to ensure efficient protection of persons who risk their well-being and sometimes also their life for the common good.