The Council of Europe is considering what steps it can take to support human rights defenders. It is likely that the Committee of Ministers (which consists of the foreign ministers of the 47 member states) will make a Declaration on the need of governments and others to support human rights defenders.

ILGA-Europe has made a submission documenting the extensive problems faced by many LGBT human rights defenders in some countries and urging that the Committee of Ministers specifically recognize the need to support them in the Declaration.

The submission documents the climate of intolerance faced in many countries, the homophobic speech, violence, and other denial of rights (freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression) which LGBT human rights defenders experience, and the failure in some countries of the courts, police and ombudspersons to support them. 

It concludes that that the Committee of Ministers, by explicitly supporting LGBT human rights defenders in their Declaration, thus emphasising their legitimacy and bringing visibility to the problems they face, can do much to support them.

ILGA-Europe's submission to the Council of Europe is published at: www.ilga-europe.org : The need for inclusion of specific reference to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights defenders in the proposed Declaration on Human Rights Defenders by the Committee of Ministers