Destroyed house, Syria. Flickr/Peter Stevens. Some rights reserved.The founding charter of the United Nations opens with the words “we the peoples”, placing human beings and their rights at the very heart of the organisation. As we celebrate Human Rights Day in 2015, the seventieth anniversary of the UN, it is an appropriate moment to reflect on the achievements that the international community has made in bolstering human rights and protecting the most vulnerable.
For me, a key aspect of this is the work of women human rights defenders and the protection they are afforded by the UN and other international bodies. These brave women do essential, risk-laden work to bring communities together and to protect human rights in times of conflict.
Having worked for the United Nations as a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders for over eight years, I have seen how the UN can empower and protect human rights and their defenders worldwide.
