An Open Letter to States and Development Financiers on the need to ensure that development interventions support the realization of human rights, safeguard human rights defenders and guarantee meaningful public participation

The Defenders in Development Campaign urges states and development finance institutions (DFIs) to integrate human rights protections into development projects, noting that defenders of land and environmental rights face extreme risks of violence and criminalization.

• Human rights defenders (HRDs), particularly those protecting land, environmental, and indigenous peoples' rights, face increasing risks of retaliation, violence, and criminalization, often being labeled as "anti-development."
• There is a high mortality rate among human rights defenders; an estimated 3,500 have been killed since 1998, with 67 percent of those murdered in 2017 working in the context of big business, extractive industries, and large investments.
• Development interventions frequently ignore human rights contexts and impacts, leading to negative outcomes such as land grabbing, social conflict, and loss of access to essential services through austerity measures.
• Development finance institutions (DFIs) have a critical responsibility to ensure their investments do not contribute to attacks on defenders and should implement ongoing human rights due diligence throughout a project's lifespan.
• The letter demands that DFIs and states establish protocols to prevent reprisals, ensure the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples, and create safe mechanisms for defenders to report deteriorating environments.
• Governments, as shareholders of development banks, are urged to ensure these institutions fulfill human rights obligations, as some national development banks and bilateral cooperation efforts may currently be undermining protection efforts.

APA

Blau, J., & Yanyshev, S. (2018). An Open Letter to States and Development Financiers on the need to ensure that development interventions support the realization of human rights, safeguard human rights defenders and guarantee meaningful public participation. Recourse. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/human-rights-defenders-are-a-cornerstone-of-sustainable-development/

Chicago

Blau, Judith, and Said Yanyshev. An Open Letter to States and Development Financiers on the need to ensure that development interventions support the realization of human rights, safeguard human rights defenders and guarantee meaningful public participation. Recourse, 2018. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/human-rights-defenders-are-a-cornerstone-of-sustainable-development/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Blau |first1=Judith |last2=Yanyshev |first2=Said |title=An Open Letter to States and Development Financiers on the need to ensure that development interventions support the realization of human rights, safeguard human rights defenders and guarantee meaningful public participation |publisher=Recourse |date=31 October 2018 |url=https://re-course.org/newsupdates/human-rights-defenders-are-a-cornerstone-of-sustainable-development/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{blau2018open, author = {Blau, Judith and Yanyshev, Said}, title = {{An Open Letter to States and Development Financiers on the need to ensure that development interventions support the realization of human rights, safeguard human rights defenders and guarantee meaningful public participation}}, publisher = {Recourse}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://re-course.org/newsupdates/human-rights-defenders-are-a-cornerstone-of-sustainable-development/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }