Subcommittee on Human Rights Ordinary meeting
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DROI European Parliament
Follow its sittingsAndrea Bolaños Vargas
Estos asesinatos no surgen de la nada. A menudo van precedidos de campaña de desprestigio, amenazas físicas y en línea, vigilancia y acoso judicial, los cuales hacen parte de un ciclo de criminalización y son señales de alerta que con frecuencia se ignoran. Ciertos grupos corren mayor riesgo. Las personas indígenas, las personas defensoras del ambiente, las mujeres defensoras y los jóvenes defensores de derechos humanos y aquellos que trabajan en contextos de conflicto y autoritarios.
Los riesgos aumentan para las personas que se encuentran en la intersección de múltiples sistemas de discriminación. Las mujeres indígenas defensoras, por ejemplo, enfrentan formas específicas y agravadas de violencia debido a la convergencia del racismo, el sexismo e intereses que afectan sus territorios. Los asesinatos van desde asesinatos selectivos hasta muertes bajo custodia, que apuntan a fallas sistemáticas en la protección y en algunos casos a la posible omisión o aquiescencia de actores estatales. En el último mes, mi mandato ha realizado una encuesta en la que participaron 1122 personas defensoras a nivel mundial.
En ella, las personas defensoras identificaron los ataques contra la integridad personal como su tercera preocupación. Por otro lado, la oficina del Alto Comisionado de Derechos Humanos ha recopilado y verificado datos sobre los asesinatos de personas defensoras. Las cifras son alarmantes. 668 personas fueron asesinadas en 2024, 505 en 2025 y se prevé que para este año las cifras superen 743 víctimas. En segundo lugar, quisiera hablar de la cultura generalizada de la impunidad.
Quizás el aspecto más preocupante no solo sea que se asesine a las personas defensoras, sino que sus asesinos rara vez rinden cuentas. Las investigaciones suelen retrasarse, resultan inconclusas o se ven comprometidas. Las familias y los compañeros que buscan justicia suelen sufrir intimidación. En numerosos casos, el debido proceso ha brillado por su ausencia o ha adolecido de grandes deficiencias. Esta incapacidad para garantizar la rendición de cuentas transmite un mensaje escalofriante.
La violencia contra las personas defensoras se tolera.
Y este mensaje es cruel, socava la confianza en las instituciones y debilita el Estado de derecho. En tercer lugar, la responsabilidad y el potencial de los Estados y de los actores internacionales, incluida la Unión Europea. Mi mandato ha instado constantemente a los Estados a la adopción de marcos de protección integrales para las personas defensoras y a aplicar plenamente los ya existentes.
Esto incluye mecanismos o políticas nacionales que partan de la participación efectiva y significativa de la sociedad civil, tanto en su diseño como en su implementación, y que contengan medidas de prevención y protección colectivas, sistemas de alerta temprana y programas eficaces de protección de testigos, entre otras medidas. Esto significa cumplir con la letra y el espíritu de las directrices europeas sobre personas defensoras de derechos humanos. Además, junto con mi predecesora, estamos terminando un informe de seguimiento sobre los asesinatos de algunas personas defensoras en los que aún no se ha garantizado la rendición de cuentas. Espero que podamos presentar esas conclusiones de este trabajo en julio.
Hemos también enviado comunicaciones a los gobiernos, realizado visitas a distintos países, elaborado informes temáticos en los que se analizan los patrones de violencia y los indicios de alerta temprana y las buenas prácticas. En este sentido, el Parlamento Europeo y la Unión Europea tienen un papel crucial que desempeñar. Las directrices de la Unión Europea sobre personas defensoras proporcionan un marco importante. Sin embargo, su aplicación debe reforzarse y hacerse más coherente. Las declaraciones públicas, la intervención diplomática, el seguimiento de los juicios y el apoyo de emergencia marcan la diferencia y créanme que han marcado la diferencia.
Además, la acción exterior de la Unión Europea debe integrar sistemáticamente la protección de las personas defensoras en sus decisiones políticas y prioridades temáticas. Cuando persistan patrones de asesinatos e impunidad, deberían considerarse la aplicación de condicionalidades o sanciones cuando procedan. Honorables distinguidos diputados y distinguidas participantes, permítanme proponer varias recomendaciones concretas.
Dar prioridad a la prevención, reforzar los mecanismos de alerta temprana y garantizar que las amenazas creíbles contra las personas defensoras desencadenen respuestas inmediatas y coordinadas. Garantizar la rendición de cuentas, apoyar investigaciones independientes, rápidas, exhaustivas e imparciales de todas las amenazas, asesinatos y ejecuciones en contra de personas defensoras. Proteger a las personas en situación de riesgo, ampliar la financiación y el acceso a programas de reubicación, los visados de emergencia y los programas de protección, especialmente para personas defensoras en alto riesgo.
Abordar los problemas estructurales como la corrupción, los conflictos por la tierra, los abusos corporativos y la discriminación que a menudo subyacen los ataques contra las personas defensoras. Fomentar un entorno seguro y propicio, derogar las leyes que penalizan la labor legítima de la defensa de los derechos humanos y abstenerse de estigmatizar a las personas defensoras. Por último, debemos reafirmar un principio fundamental: defender el derecho a defender los derechos humanos no es un delito.
Quienes llevan a cabo esta labor son socias esenciales de la construcción de sociedades justas y resilientes. Cada ejecución extrajudicial de una persona defensora no es una tragedia para la persona y sus seres queridos. Es un ataque contra nuestras sociedades y nuestra democracia, contra el mismo, los mismos valores que afirmamos defender. Insto al Parlamento Europeo a que siga liderando con acciones basadas en principios y decisivas. De ello depende la credibilidad de nuestro compromiso colectivo con los derechos humanos.
Muchísimas gracias, señor presidente, y todas y todos.
Mounir Satouri
Merci beaucoup. Je vais donner maintenant la parole à Claire Ivers pour dix minutes pour présenter le rapport.
Clare Ivers
Great.
Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you to the subcommittee for the opportunity to present the findings from Front Line Defenders' Global Analysis for 2025. We have some slides during the course of my presentation which highlight some of the statistics from our report covering the last year, which I hope will soon be shown on the screen. If we can move to the next slide, please. So Front Line Defenders' Global Analysis presents our assessment of the environment facing human rights defenders worldwide over the course of the previous year.
Our findings for 2023 point to a world in which many human rights defenders are continuing to operate in very difficult and often very dangerous environments as they work to promote and protect human rights and support the communities that they serve. We are seeing defenders continuing to operate in a context marked by growing authoritarianism, escalating armed conflict, shrinking civic space, and increasingly, of course, a funding crisis affecting both defenders and the organisations that support them.
And against that backdrop, I will focus today on one of the most serious and irreversible consequences of this hostile environment, which is the killing of human rights defenders documented by the Human Rights Defender Memorial project. Um, so just maybe, um, a few words to explain the Human Rights Defender Memorial. It's a joint initiative of 13 national, regional, and international organizations that's led by Front Line Defenders, which documents the killings of human rights defenders globally. And this data that we publish is really only possible because of a collaborative nature, um, of work with not only the Human Rights Defender Memorial partners, but also with a wide network of defenders and organization who support us throughout the case verification process.
And for a case to be considered and included in the memorial, there must be evidence linking the individual's human rights work to their killing. And also the figures I present today will represent the documented and verified cases, but there are many other cases which I will touch on that we are still looking to verify over the course of the past year. Um, so as you will see from this slide, the project documented at least 358 human rights defenders killed across 28 countries last year.
And it's really a figure that no one working in this field ever wants to see remain so high year after year, but the figures this year largely mirror what we saw in 2024. Um, behind the figures, of course, they're not just statistics. Um, they're hundreds of individual stories, families, and communities affected by these losses. On pages six to eight of the report, we have listed the names of all the human rights defenders whose killings we verified. You'll see in the report that six human rights defenders are listed as anonymous in the report, and this is at the request of their families and communities due to fears of reprisal.
And unfortunately, even after death, fear remains a reality for many of those closest to human rights defenders around the world.
So you'll see from the slide that the Americas once again accounted for the overwhelming majority of documented killings, with 275 killings verified in the region. Colombia continues to account for a significant proportion of documented killings, and we've documented in that country alone 165 killings, really demonstrating the persistent risks faced by human rights defenders working in contexts affected by violence, by territorial disputes, and of course, the presence of multiple armed actors.
The continued high numbers also documented in Mexico highlights the persistent risks faced by human rights defenders in that country too, despite years of national and international attention to their protection. You'll also see from the map that the MENA region accounts for 52 killings this year, with 42 killings alone recorded in Gaza, and the number of defenders killed in Gaza really reflects the extraordinary risks faced by human rights defenders working in conflict situations. As I mentioned from the outset, I should add that this data does not reflect the total number of killings perpetrated last year.
There are cases that really are simply impossible to verify or document due to the challenges such as imposition of internet blackouts, suppression of the media, or total closure of civic space, particularly in countries and regions subjected to ongoing conflicts. And this includes but is not restricted to or limited to countries such as the DRC, to Ethiopia, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, and China. And if we can move to the next slide, please. So this slide looks at some of the most targeted areas of human rights defense when it comes to the killing of human rights defenders.
And as in previous years, we see that land, environmental, and indigenous rights defenders remain disproportionately represented amongst those killed. This reflects the continued risks faced by communities defending their land, resources, and ways of life, often in situations involving very powerful competing interests. Also amongst the top areas of human rights defense when it comes to killing, almost 10% of human rights defenders killed last year were targeted because of their human rights work in conflict situations. And if we can move to the next slide.
So the next slide will look and take us through a breakdown of the killing of human rights defenders by their gender. So we saw that 297 human rights defenders were men, 50 were women human rights defenders, and eight defenders were trans and gender non-conforming. In terms of what we know about the perpetrators of the killings, 159 killings were by unknown perpetrators, 131 killings were by alleged non-state actors, 65 killings were by state actors, and three from what we know by family members. And the high number of cases involving unknown perpetrators also highlights really the continuing challenges of impunity and the difficulties associated with investigating attacks against human rights defenders.
If we can move to to the next slide. The next slide takes us through the nature of threats that we have seen the human rights defenders face prior to their killing. So we saw that at least 64 human rights defenders had received direct and individual threats. 129 defenders killed were targeted in areas where human rights defenders are regularly subjected to threats.
And I should add through through our research the majority of human rights defenders who were killed last year, the number is 236, were killed by shootings. The Memorial Project continues to investigate and verify an additional 119 cases from last year. And again, this really illustrates the challenges of documenting attacks against human rights defenders, particularly in contexts affected by conflict, as I've mentioned media restrictions, shrinking space, shrinking civic space, and also where establishing the full circumstances surrounding a killing can take considerable time and effort. So now looking to what the international community can do and hopefully we will have an opportunity to discuss this in more detail during the question and answers round.
But as the EU is moving to develop its new EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, we would of course encourage a very strong and visible focus on the protection of human rights defenders. And the findings of the Human Rights Defender Memorial Project really remind us that attacks against defenders rarely begin with the killing itself. They are often preceded by threats, harassment, criminalization, and other warning signs.
And we really do need to see better effective implementation of the EU guidelines on human rights defenders. And this requires proactive engagement by EU delegations and member state embassies, early identification of human rights defenders at risk, and consistent political support and the mobilization of protection measures before a situation escalates into violence. The EU possesses one of the world's strongest policy frameworks on human rights defenders, namely through the EU guidelines on human rights defenders, adopted well over 20 years ago now. But the challenge, as the UN Special Rapporteur pointed to, is effective implementation, and from what we've seen over the past years, of course, the political will as well. We do feel that the European Parliament, and in particular this subcommittee, has long been one of the strongest voices and political supporters of human rights defenders globally and has played a really important role in scrutinizing how the EU's commitments are translated into very concrete action by the EU institutions and its member states.
And right now, we believe that that leadership is needed now more than ever. The Parliament, and especially the subcommittee, can continue to ensure that attacks against defenders are not forgotten, that accountability remains on the agenda, and that those who continue to defend the rights of others know that they are not alone. Thank you.
Elis Matthews
Thank you very much, and good morning again.
We're very glad to contribute to this important discussion today. I think as we've just heard, the latest findings documented by Front Line Defenders are a stark reminder that killings of human rights defenders remain a global and a deeply entrenched phenomenon and that these cases are not isolated incidents. They reflect wider patterns of repression, impunity, and shrinking civic space.
And we're obviously very concerned by that and by the persistent pattern of extrajudicial, arbitrary, and unlawful killings of human rights defenders, widely documented by civil society, Front Line Defenders being part of that. And human rights defenders must be able to carry out their legitimate work freely and safely, online and offline, as the UN Special Rapporteur was saying, without fear of threats, criminalization, transnational repression, arbitrary detention, or enforced disappearance or killing. So what does the EU through the EEAS have to say on this issue? Well, first of all, it's our practice to condemn killings publicly.
That includes attacks and reprisals against human rights defenders, and we do this wherever they occur through statements by the High Representative, through the EEAS spokesperson, by the EUSR, the EU's own Special Representative for Human Rights, by EU delegations and in multilateral fora. And we call on all states to protect human rights defenders, to prevent attacks before they happen, to conduct prompt, independent, impartial, and effective investigations into alleged killings, to hold both the perpetrators and those ordering or enabling such crimes accountable, and to ensure access to justice and remedy for victims and their families. And we also stress that impunity is one of the main drivers of repeated violence.
Where defenders are killed in contexts marked by corruption, conflict, organized crime, land disputes, extractive activities or authoritarian repression, accountability is all the more essential. And so we raise specifically those risks faced by groups that are disproportionately targeted, including as has been outlined in the report, women human rights defenders, environmental and land defenders, indigenous people and defenders working in remote or conflict-affected areas. So that's our policy. And second, what do we do in practice? Well, we work through a combination of political engagement, diplomacy, monitoring, protection and support.
There's a lot of activity through diplomatic action by EU delegations and by member state embassies. So EU delegations and member states monitor cases, they stay in close contact with defenders and civil society, they raise concerns with national authorities, they observe trials where possible, they track restrictions on civic space, and they coordinate local protection responses. And that local presence matters because in many cases, as Claire Ivers was saying, early visible and coordinated diplomatic engagement can reduce risk. We support through the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism.
And this mechanism provides emergency support to defenders at risk, and that includes temporary relocation, it includes legal support, it includes medical and psychosocial assistance, digital and physical security support, family support in acute situations. But obviously the mechanism alone is not enough, and we have to mobilize all of our tools in combination with one another in a complementary manner. And that leads me on to political and human rights dialogues. So we do our best consistently to integrate concerns about attacks on human rights defenders into our human rights dialogues, into political consultations and bilateral engagement with partner countries at whatever level.
And we call for legal and institutional safeguards, including protection mechanisms, improved witness protection, as was also referenced, and stronger prosecution of attacks and the repeal of laws that are used to stigmatize or criminalize defenders or those who support them. A further dimension would be multilateral action. So this includes at the UN Human Rights Council, at the UN General Assembly, in cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the relevant UN special procedures, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. And in that context, I'm very glad to greet the new UN SR and to say that engagement between my team and her and her office has already begun.
Thirdly, what should we say about the current trends and how to respond? First of all, one of the things that comes out very clearly is that killings rarely occur in isolation. They're preceded by stigmatization, by surveillance, by threats, harassment of various kinds, arbitrary detention, smear campaigns.
So prevention means acting on the early warning signs. Secondly, many killings occur where defenders challenge powerful interests. And so protection can't be looked at only as an emergency response, but it's got to look at structural impunity, at the fight against corruption, against restrictions on civic space and more generally support for the rule of law. Thirdly, online attacks increasingly feed offline violence and they can directly increase the physical risk faced by defenders. And so we treat online and offline protection as interconnected.
Fourthly, transnational repression is an increasing concern. So exile or relocation doesn't always mean safety. This is a topic that's been raised, I think very usefully, on multiple occasions by the European Parliament.
It's a serious challenge to human rights defenders, to civic space, and to the international protection system, and it requires close cooperation with host states and the international partners. And finally, to say that accountability is indispensable, so it's not enough to condemn, but the cycle of violence will continue if there's no credible investigation or justice. So just to conclude, we continue to be committed with our Commission partners to using all the available means to support human rights defenders.
The European Parliament has long been a strong voice for human rights defenders, and we value our partnership with the Parliament in this area so that attacks against defenders are not met with silence, but with protection, visibility, and accountability. And so we're very glad to continue our work with all of the parties represented in today's discussion, whether it be the Parliament, EU member states, UN mechanisms, or indeed and above all, civil society, because they're essential partners for democracy, the rule of law, and sustainable development, and ultimately peace. Thank you.
Mounir Satouri
Merci à vous, Monsieur Matthews. Avant de donner la parole à mes collègues pour leurs interventions, je veux juste signaler que Madame la Rapporteure spéciale ne peut pas rester pour la partie questions-réponses. Alors s'il y a des réflexions, des questions, on pourra lui transmettre. Et de toute façon, nous allons renforcer le travail avec son bureau.
Donc voilà, il y aura des suites et peut-être des occasions futures. Monsieur Tarquinio.
Marco Tarquinio
Merci, Monsieur le Président. Parlo in italiano.
Io sono grato per le sottolineature che sono arrivate oggi e la conferma di un fenomeno che resta globale e che ha dei punti di acutezza straordinaria. Grazie alla dottoressa Evers per averci aiutato a vedere di nuovo una situazione in un paese come quello della Colombia che recentemente questo Parlamento, seguendo una linea delle istituzioni europee, ha definito un paese sicuro. Io parto da qui.
Beh, la mia domanda ai rappresentanti al tavolo dei relatori e dei testimoni è proprio riguarda questo. Come si concilia l'azione che in questo Parlamento svolgiamo, che l'Unione Europea attraverso i suoi uffici continua a esercitare, con un'involuzione delle politiche europee che mette al primo posto il controllo e il blocco dei movimenti delle persone, classificando come sicuri anche paesi che sono l'epicentro di azioni di violenza contro coloro che si oppongono ai regimi pro tempore, che difendono i diritti reali delle comunità sotto scacco? È chiaro dove vado a concludere, no? Questa è un'emergenza che ci riguarda e che riguarda la nostra politica e l'orientamento di tutte le nostre politiche. Grazie per la risposta che vorrete darmi.
Speaker 9
Thank you, Chair, and thank you to our three speakers. I think it goes without saying, but it should still be said, that we really do see that the right to defend human rights is really under attack and the civic space is shrinking all around the world. And it's really concerning to see the figures that you presented today and to hear the testimonies that you shared, and also especially concerning seeing that impunity continues to be what drives and what continues to perpetrate these cycles of violence against human rights defenders, so many of which are human rights defenders but also land rights defenders and climate activists and protectors of local communities and indigenous peoples.
And there's a very strong link there both with those issues but also with issues related to economic interests which are often at stake and often human rights defenders or land defenders see themselves grasping with.
In that case, I wanted to specifically name the case of Berta Cáceres, whose family continues to seek justice and accountability here in Europe. They were here in Brussels a few days ago. And hers is really a case, a murder that shows the challenges of large-scale development and extractive projects and the consequence that it can have on people that are trying to raise their voices against those issues. And then thank you also for mentioning the growing online repression and digital surveillance and online harassment, also the use of AI, which is more and more causing, as you were saying, not only danger offline, but also danger in person. And then I guess my questions to you, first of all, I would like to know, especially regarding this last point, the point on online harassment, on AI, these are new ways to repress.
What tools, what responses can we as European Union, in your view, develop or work on to make sure that online spaces remain safe or become safer for human rights defenders?
Secondly, I was wondering when you showed the image, obviously Central and South America seem to be very much hotspots. Can you explain and elaborate a little bit on why this region is so dangerous for human rights defenders? And then another question related to that is what about our own responsibility, particularly as European companies that establish businesses or supply chains in these countries and often are linked with these crimes? Can you tell a little bit about the European angle? And then my last question would be to Mr. Matthews.
You spoke a little bit about the EU mechanism, the emergency mechanism to response to acute crisis. Can you tell us a little bit more of who are the people that we are helping as the European Union, which regions do they come from, more or less which numbers or what do they seek, how do we help them in practice when this mechanism is activated? Thank you.
Mounir Satouri
Merci, je vais donner la parole maintenant au représentant de la Commission qui est resté. Monsieur Mohamed El Azouzi, vous êtes chef du secteur Droits de l'homme à la DG INTPA. Vous avez la parole pour trois minutes.
Mohamed El Azouzi
Merci beaucoup.
Thank you very much and and I will take the opportunity maybe to answer part of of the question you you raised. Earlier today we discussed we discussed torture and we heard the testimony of of survivors and and now discussing the phenomenon of the growing phenomenon of the extrajudicial killings, both symptoms of of growing pressure on on human rights and I would say both as well as was discussed this morning, not an end in itself but also a means to an to an end to to shrink the the civic space and prevent prevent civil society organizations, human rights defenders to to raise their their voice and defend their right.
We welcome this timely report and indeed the alarming figures underscore the escalating threats faced by those defending rights and freedoms worldwide and serve as a reminder of the importance of our collective work across all the area of our mission.
Here as well, like earlier this morning, a comprehensive approach is required with a strong focus on protection and the fight against impunity and accountability. Alice mentioned earlier the ProtectDefenders mechanism, which basically provide this multifaceted support to the most at-risk human rights defenders worldwide. Since the beginning of the initiative in 2015, 97,000 human rights defenders have been supported across the world, across the continent. And it include those at extreme risk of killings or reprisal.
And only in the past year, 90% of those benefiting from the emergency grant component was directed to these human rights defenders in the most hostile environment, and 50% of which of this group identified as land, environmental, indigenous people's rights human rights defenders. Through this program, through this protection mechanism, we offer through PD.eu, offer a range of services such as support for temporary relocation, shelter initiatives, capacity building initiatives in support of local human rights defender groups, communities, and organizations. On top of this mechanism, the PD.eu, note as well that while we have these global initiatives, in some countries, in some EU delegations, there may be local initiatives of protection that are there where the needs are very high.
We also support civil society organization, including including media and and journalist in the fragile in the most fragile repressive context to build their capacity and enhance their resilience by improving their physical and digital security.
We also support the international institution with which civil society organization human rights defender collaborate to enhance monitoring and and protection of human rights such as OHCHR and and ICC. And as as I was also mentioning earlier this this this morning we have we have our global initiative against impunity for international crime that also covers that also covers extrajudicial killings and forced disappearance which focuses on inclusive survivor-centered justice worldwide with a strong focus on supporting grassroots organization and here again it covers 28 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Thank you very much.
Mounir Satouri
Merci beaucoup Monsieur El Azzouzi. Moi j'ai deux petites questions sur le rapport. La question que j'ai envie de vous poser claire est-ce que votre rapport couvre le monde entier ?
Parce que je vois les chiffres, je dois dire que s'ils m'interpellent, 275 cas sur 358 en tout sur la Colombie. Est-ce que vos chiffres couvrent le monde entier ou uniquement des zones où vous suivez, dans lesquelles vous avez des relais ? Ça, c'est ma première question. Et puis ma deuxième question, c'est sur la nature des mandataires qui utilisent les États pour faire cette répression transfrontalière. Est-ce que c'est des réseaux criminels habituels qui trouvent une nouvelle spécialité, si j'ose dire, ou une nouvelle ressource ?
Ou est-ce que c'est des réseaux ad hoc qui se montent pour venir en appui de ces régimes qui traquent les défenseurs des droits ?
Voilà mes mes deux questions. Je vous laisse peut-être commencer comme tout à l'heure pour répondre aux questions qui étaient posées puis Monsieur Mathieu conclura.
Okay, thank you chair. Thank you dear colleagues. So maybe I I've noted some of the questions that were put to me and maybe to start with your question chair.
Clare Ivers
So, we documented 275 cases of killings in Colombia. Again, we're looking to verify an additional 119 cases globally, but we have a very strict verification system to ensure that the killing of the defender, first of all, the individual killed was indeed a human rights defender, and also that they were targeted and murdered as a result of their human rights work. So this is a very complex piece of work for verification. But yes, the Human Rights Defender Memorial aims to capture, and it's the only project that captures a global overview of killings of human rights defenders working on all areas of human rights defense.
But as I mentioned in my presentation, there are real challenges with documenting and verifying cases in particular countries, particular regions, particularly countries subjected to conflicts or closed civic spaces. For instance, I've mentioned Iran, China are very challenging contexts, and conflict contexts such as Sudan as well and Gaza right now are very challenging to verify cases. But the data that we produce does give a snapshot of the trends we see and the cases that we have been able to verify where that information is available. Maybe moving on to another question around the high numbers that are coming from the Americas.
And this has been the case for years, the high number of killings, particularly with regards to Colombia. The number has been unchanged for the past years and again the most targeted defenders are those working on land, environment, indigenous, peasant people's rights. Um, I would add one caveat and it's linking to what I said earlier about the challenges with documentation.
In countries such as Colombia, there is a very vibrant human rights community and NGOs who have been documenting killings of defenders, who have specific mechanisms in place for documenting this over the course of of the past years. So there is a process where these numbers can be obtained. But of course there are other countries where there are more challenges as I mentioned for documenting and identifying where the networks aren't necessarily there to be able to to yield this this data.
Maybe just the question around digital threats. Our report, so I've covered in my presentation, the memorial data, so the killing of human rights defenders. But the global analysis that we published last week looks at all the trends that we've seen over the past year through our work, through our grants work, through our digital security work. And it's identified some of the main threats. And one of those threats, of course, is linked to digital threats for human rights defenders.
So we do see increasingly state and non-state actors rely on digital tools to fabricate evidence, to smear human rights defenders, and also to justify their arrests.
And this trend we see being characterized is further being characterized by the convergence of artificial intelligence. And something new in this year's report that we haven't done previously is that we provide statistics on digital threats and violations that's derived from our protection work over the past year. So last year, in 2025 alone, we saw 1,221 digital threats and violations against human rights defenders.
And here the five most prevalent digital threats were online surveillance and censorship, social media harassment, online threat of violence, phone surveillance, interrogation and confiscation of destroyed and destroying devices of human rights defenders. And as I said, we we do have concerns that content is of course being manipulated by the use and the rise of artificial intelligence to undermine human rights defenders and the positions that they they defend. There are a number of cases if you look at our report that we've highlighted where human rights defenders have been impacted by this over the past year.
I think in in terms of what the European Parliament can do specifically on on this point is to engage with tech companies, to engage with AI companies and to highlight concerns, to use data that organizations such as ourselves, such as and other organizations and the UN are producing on this specific topic. Just maybe to move in move on to just a recommendation that was raised by Alice and also by the UN Special Rapporteur concerning concrete action from from the European Parliament. I've I've emphasized the point that the Subcommittee on Human Rights traditionally over the past 20 years since I've been working in the human rights field has played such a critical role. I have seen cases where the European Parliament has stood up, spoke out about an individual case and we have seen the situation for that human rights defender improve.
We have seen human rights defenders be released because the European Parliament has proactively taken up their cases. And I would leave you with this recommendation on the specific issue of killings of defenders for the subcommittee itself to prioritize this specific area. It merits your attention. And to also in resolutions, in statements, in dialogues with third countries, where it is safe to do so, to raise cases of defenders who have paid the highest price, basically their lives, for their peaceful human rights work. Thank you.
Elis Matthews
Perhaps I could address or at least try to address some of the questions that have been raised. So I think a fair question on Colombia, that's I think a particularly complex case. It's one where in fact the EU has been directly involved in the peace process. There's still a special envoy in the EEAS that works on that. So it's been in many ways a very strong partnership.
It's a country where most of the constitutional and legal protections are in place, but a country that also acknowledges that there are shortfalls and we do what we can to work with Colombia to address those shortfalls.
It's also a place, and I think this partly addresses your question, where there are very, very big urban-rural disparities and a large territory to cover. I have to say also that Colombia at the multilateral level has been quite a close like-minded partner on the kinds of issues that we're discussing today. So it's not a simple example. There are many subtleties to it and I won't even start obviously speculating about the outcome of the latest elections. The second point on online, offline and how to deal with the threat.
Of course, you know, digital tools, notably mobile phones, they're very powerful in terms of bearing witness, recording, publicizing, but they also become a source of vulnerability. And so we do our best to address that at the overall level in terms of the fight against disinformation, but also participating or supporting training of human rights defenders in how they can work on getting objective information out. But it also involves obviously training on their own personal protection and security tools with whether it's computers, online devices or phones or whatever. We've also been involved in the past in working with partners on guidelines on human rights defenders' protection online, which are specifically addressed to tech companies.
Thirdly, the question on who is it that we're supporting. I think my colleague mainly addressed that, but just to say that the definition of human rights defenders that we use is very, very wide-ranging and encompasses all the at-risk categories that Claire Ivers mentioned in her presentation. And we do our best to, beyond the mechanism itself that Mohammed described very well, to do what we can to combine the diplomatic tools with the elements of protection. So that can include confidential démarches, political engagement with the national authorities.
As I said before, it can include trial observation and monitoring of judicial proceedings. It can include visits to detained defenders. It can include public or non-public advocacy actions. And then there are the specific support categories that were that were in addition mentioned to to that. So it's quite wide scope.
Obviously there are some countries where it's actually physically difficult to perform those functions, but we try to do them even in the most restrictive countries like Russia or or China to the extent that we can. And then just finally the I think a very important point was raised on business and human rights which I think would deserve really a whole debate in its in its own right, but I think increasingly the importance of human rights and environmental due diligence, there's an important conversation to be had there with companies on the UN guiding principles and how they're operated and I think a legitimate area of debate which you will get into I'm sure as you look at the next EU budget which is making sure that the human rights-based approach applies throughout the Global Gateway initiative including in projects which may be in the future in the extractive industries where as you indicated there are very specific vulnerabilities.
So I would leave it at that. Thank you.
Mounir Satouri
Eh bien merci. Merci à toutes et tous pour cet échange. Je l'ai dit tout à l'heure, nous nous sommes engagés dans nos méthodes de travail, donc on en a fait quelque chose de stable et de durable à avoir un échange annuel autour de ces sujets. Pour nous, c'est important parce que ça nous permet d'abord de prendre connaissance de la réalité, de voir comment les réponses de l'UE sont adaptées ou pas.
Je suis certain, par exemple, que des choses qui ont été dites ce matin vont pouvoir nourrir et améliorer des travaux qu'on a en cours, que ce soit le rapport annuel ou les rapports d'initiative qu'on a sur l'IA ou sur la justice internationale. Donc on va garder ce temps d'échange qui est important. Traquer et tuer les défenseurs des droits est intolérable et on continuera à agir pour éviter que ça n'arrive et quand ça arrive à ce que ça ne reste pas impuni. Donc merci beaucoup. La séance est donc levée et reprendra à 16 heures sous la présidence de la première vice-présidente Marta Temido.
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