News MONITORING & ACCOUNTABILITY Es 20 April 2015 ‘Wave of stigmatization’ against human rights defenders in Honduras With the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council around the corner, stigmatizing declarations by Honduran officials against human rights defenders concern national and international civil society. Recent statements from State officials and journalists accuse human rights defenders of leading a “smear campaign” and of “attacking the image of [our] country”. This wave of stigmatization appears to be “a reprisal for having exercised their right to interact with the UN Human Rights Council UPR process”, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) notes. Along with other international partners, FIAN International is working closely with various Honduran civil society organizations, participating in the ‘Plataforma EPU’ (‘UPR Platform’), which has come together to coordinate efforts vis-à-vis the UPR, scheduled on 8th May. We join other partners in expressing our concern about this alarming situation, and we call on the State of Honduras to recognize and enable the work of human rights defenders at international human rights spaces, and to adopt adequate measures to protect them at the national level, in line with its obligations under international human rights law. For more information, please see the statement by UPR Platform.