This document presents a set of professional and ethical principles determining the requirements for human rights defenders and their professional activities. It is based on the ethical criteria and traditions of human rights work in Belarus, as well as on the international standards and rules for human rights activities.
The purpose of these Principles is to foster responsible corporate culture in the human rights community, which will contribute to raising public trust to and respect for the human rights community, taking into account the social importance of human rights work. The adherence to the Principles is the moral duty of every human rights defender.
The Principles of Human Rights Work apply to relations between human rights defenders and to relations of human rights defenders with victims of human rights violations, public authorities, international organizations, civil society organizations, other professional communities, and the media.
The document applies to the Belarusian human rights organizations and human rights defenders in their individual capacity and is open for the accession.
Human rights defenders are those individuals, groups and bodies of the society who, acting peacefully, individually and/or jointly with others, exercise, promote and/or protect human rights and fundamental freedoms at the local, national and/or international levels. They recognize the universality of human rights for all without any distinction.
