On the subject of the defenders of human rights, we believe that it's important to put it out on the table. When faced with situations that are serious violations of human rights, there should be no silence and no resignation. We believe there are groups and individuals involved in human rights who are devoted to building dignified conditions for people to live in, to really live well, as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says--in other words, to live freely from fear and poverty, in the full enjoyment of their fundamental rights. So the attitude of the defenders is very much needed. We also need people who will dissent, if we really want to reach democracy.
But there are many barriers and obstacles to the defenders of human rights. Their positions and the voices with which they demand their rights are easy reason to disqualify them when they're presented as undesirables--in other words, people who actually are harmful and constitute a risk to the country. We saw this happen last year in October. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico presented a report called “Human Rights Defense: Between Commitment and Risk”. This report pointed out the violence that the defenders have been subject to and the various obstacles or barriers that have been raised. I think in this sense I agree with the approach taken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In other words, being a defender is a high-risk activity.
We also see with great concern that aggressions on the defenders are not sufficiently or appropriately investigated by national authorities.