Australia thanks the Special Rapporteur for her report and her ongoing work.  We are deeply concerned by the shrinking of civil society space, and attacks on human rights defenders globally.

Human Rights Defenders are regularly on the frontlines of human rights advocacy, being the ones to document abuses and bringing the most serious violations and abuses to the attention of the international community, often at great personal risk.  Authoritarian states, have sought to suppress the voices of human rights defenders.  Recent conflicts and human rights situations of concern have undermined the vital role that human rights defenders have in holding states to account for their human rights obligations.

We note with grave concern that human rights defenders are often targeted both publicly and privately by authorities, such as in the case of protestors in Iran following the death in custody of 22-year old Kurdish woman Ms Mahsa Amini.  Australia is alarmed by reports that hundreds of people have been killed, and many more injured, during heavy-handed measures by Iranian authorities to crack down on ongoing protests.  We support calls led by the Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for a prompt, impartial investigation into Ms Amini’s death by an independent body, and Australia calls upon the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint in response to ongoing demonstrations.

Australia recognizes the Special Rapporteur’s emphasis on the importance of human rights defenders working on the rights of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees.  We are also gravely concerned that these defenders face a variety of threats, including through weaponization of state legal systems, launching of smear campaigns and attacks based on their gender.

We would be interested in the Special Rapporteur’s views on how States can best support human rights defenders in responding to cross-border refugee and migrant flows caused by current conflicts in Europe and Africa?