A parliamentary sponsorship programme between the Parliamentary Assembly members and human rights defenders or the politically oppressed

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 15752 | 27 April 2023

Signatories:

Ms Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR, Germany, SOC ; Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Iceland, SOC ; Ms Sibel ARSLAN, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC ; Ms Margreet De BOER, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Chris BONETT, Malta, SOC ; Ms Rasa BUDBERGYTĖ, Lithuania, SOC ; Mr Pedro CEGONHO, Portugal, SOC ; Mr Andi-Lucian CRISTEA, Romania, SOC ; Mr Geraint DAVIES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Ms Heike ENGELHARDT, Germany, SOC ; Ms Camilla FABRICIUS, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Sascha FAXE, Denmark, SOC ; Lord George FOULKES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Croatia, SOC ; Mr Christoph HOFFMANN, Germany, ALDE ; Mr Mogens JENSEN, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Ruth JONES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Franziska KERSTEN, Germany, SOC ; Mr Christophe LACROIX, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Max LUCKS, Germany, SOC ; Mr Saša MAGAZINOVIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC ; Mr Simon MOUTQUIN, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Kate OSBORNE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Julian PAHLKE, Germany, SOC ; Mr Christian PETRY, Germany, SOC ; Ms Azadeh ROJHAN, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Armen RUSTAMYAN, Armenia, SOC ; Mr Lukas SAVICKAS, Lithuania, SOC ; Mr Axel SCHÄFER, Germany, SOC ; Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Mr Virendra SHARMA, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Krzysztof ŚMISZEK, Poland, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Since its very foundation, the Parliamentary Assembly has been dedicated to safeguarding and promoting human rights, bringing attention to the work of parliamentarians and human-right defenders worldwide and offering them support and protection, when needed.

It is important to protect individuals who have made a particular contribution to human rights and therefore face persecution, oppression or other severe forms of repression by State agencies. Through a specific sponsorship programme, the Assembly members can support these individuals, raise awareness of their work and provide them assistance when they are unlawfully detained or are subject to other forms of repression. Possible actions may include on-site visits, participations in Committee meetings, social media outreach, petitions, letters to embassies and governments, and trial observation.

A sponsorship program would also increase the visibility of both the Assembly and these politicians and human rights defenders and their work and send a message to oppressors that their actions will not go unnoticed or unpunished. Moreover, the program would demonstrate the international community's commitment to human rights and recognise the crucial work of those who risk their freedom and lives in defending these rights.

Therefore, we urge the Assembly to establish an official parliamentary sponsorship programme between its members and politicians from parliaments and human-rights defenders worldwide.