About the Statement

Issued by the Union Association for Human Rights in cooperation with an organization holding consultative status, the written statement was submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council at its 59th session (June–July 2025). The statement focuses on protecting women human rights defenders in the digital space and presents a comprehensive rights-based vision that places this issue at the heart of UN priorities.

First: General background

• The statement highlights the challenges and risks faced by women human rights defenders, particularly in the digital space, as a result of their human rights work and gender.
• It is based on UN General Assembly Resolution 68/181 and emphasizes the need for its full implementation, with particular focus on women.

Second: Recommendation to activate international protection mechanisms

The statement calls on the United Nations to:

• Establish a clear mechanism for receiving complaints from women human rights defenders, especially at the digital level.
• Include the outcomes of these follow-ups in the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
• Issue urgent appeals to states, digital platforms, and major companies to protect women defenders from online violence.

Third: Call for international debate and adoption of binding resolutions

• The statement calls for opening a public international debate at the Human Rights Council on violations targeting women defenders.
• It urges the Council to adopt binding resolutions that compel states to protect both male and female defenders, create a safe environment for their work, and hold perpetrators accountable.

Fourth: Specific recommendations regarding the digital space

• The statement affirms that women defenders face dangerous forms of digital violations, including:
• Threats, stalking, defamation, doxing (publishing personal information), and cyberattacks.
• Organized disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining their credibility and smearing their reputation.
• It calls for converting the Global Digital Compact adopted in September 2024 from a guidance document into a binding international convention that criminalizes these violations and holds states and platforms legally accountable.

Fifth: Core recommendations
The statement recommends taking the following measures:

• Strengthen digital security within strategies to protect women defenders.
• Hold accountable the states and entities that promote or turn a blind eye to digital violations.
• Pressure technology companies to remove abusive content and provide protection for women defenders.
• Enhance partnerships between UN Special Rapporteurs concerned with defenders and modern technologies.
• Support campaigns such as “Take Back the Tech” that use technology to combat gender-based violence.
• Launch a new international convention entitled: “Convention on Information Integrity and Digital Justice” to enshrine the right to access truth and hold accountable those who coordinate disinformation campaigns.

Importance of the Statement:

• It reflects a precise understanding of the intersection between women’s rights, digital rights, and tools of online violence.
• It calls for developing the international legal framework to keep pace with digital challenges and transform non-binding principles into effective legal tools.
• It places women human rights defenders at the center of the global digital rights debate, strengthening their position within the international protection system.