Half of human rights organisations in Belgium experience aggression and intimidation for the work they do, a survey by Belgium's Federal Institute for Human Rights (FIRM) has revealed. Nearly one in seven even censor themselves as a result of the pressure.
Thousands of people in Belgium work for the rights of children, women, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, refugees and asylum seekers, the elderly, and many others. But their occupation increasingly puts them under pressure.
"Protecting human rights is not just a task for governments. There is also an important role for human rights defenders," said Martien Schotsmans, director of FIRM. "They ensure that everyone's rights in our society are respected, but today they too often experience opposition and even threats... That makes it difficult to do their job."
Psychological impact
The institute surveyed more than 150 human rights organisations in Belgium and found that over half indicated that they had already experienced intimidation or aggression between 2020 and 2022.
In the majority of cases, this involves legal intimidation: unfounded filing or threatening to file a lawsuit. Almost a quarter of organisations have to deal with this. More than one in five are face smear campaigns and 19% have been hit by a targeted cyber attack at least once.
"We should not underestimate the psychological impact on the employees and volunteers of human rights organisations in our country," Schotsmans said. "People have to constantly think about what they publicly do or say and what they do not. Sometimes they prefer to keep their work behind the scenes for fear of the reactions."
Credit: FIRM
To draw attention to the importance of these human rights defenders, FIRM is organising an eye-catching awareness campaign that will involve employees of human rights organisations as well as passers-by, providing participants with signs to draw attention to the rights of human rights defenders.
"With this research and this campaign, FIRM wants to contribute to an open and safe environment for human rights defenders in Belgium, without threats or pressure," Schotsmans said. "Because if we allow human rights defenders to be put under pressure, the rights of all of us are at risk."
