Mary Lawlor, Director, Front Line

We meet in the shadow of the death of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the other 21

UN staff and yet more deaths of human rights defenders. The death of Sergio

Vieira de Mello was a grim reminder, that even the man officially charged by

the UN and representing 191 nations could be targeted and murdered for his

work as a human rights defender. When we met Sergio Vieira de Mello

reiterated what he had said in his first policy address to the UN – that

defenders could expect strong support from him and spoke of the importance

which he attached to the work of human rights defenders.. But his official

status and profile – ironically higher in death than in life – did not save him.

30 years of devoted work to the ideals of the UN ended in a horrific act of

violence – so far and so foreign to the man and his work. The other 21 staff

who were so brutally murdered echo the human rights defenders from around

the world who have been continuously killed . Their names didn’t go up in

lights. Their deaths lost in the daily business of living – only those who loved

them remember their names. Yet the attack on Sergio Vieira de Mello, the

other 22 staff and all the human rights defenders killed in the last year was an

attack on human rights by killing off those who dedicated their lives to its

work and were seen as a threat to the status quo and power of many. But here

in this room there is the unspoken promise of personal commitment to

continue their work as the only fitting tribute and the only way to live.

. I want to thank the Minister for Justice for accepting our invitation to speak at the

conference - because it is only he who can recognise the work of human rights

defenders by issuing a number of temporary visas, so that defenders under threat can

come to study , acquire new skills, do an internship in Front Line or simply get out

for a break for a while. I would like to ask the Minister to make available to us a few

temporary visas for 6-12 months annually, which we can use to support those in

danger in this way.

Defenders in this programme should be entitled to social welfare for the 6 months or

a year they are here. A system would have to be put in place where these could be

issued urgently if someone was in danger . For example one of those present in this

room is 20 year old Raihana Diani who has already been imprisoned in Aceh,

Indonesia for six months and had her law studies disprupted . Aceh is currently

under martial law and very dangerous for HRDS. She was imprisoned simply

because she demonstrated for womens rights and against poverty and corruption. We

are taking advantage of Raihana’s visa to give her a months intensive English after

the conference because for Raihana this work is for the long term and English will

benefit her greatly in her international networking.

As I understand it, Ireland has 10 places annually for emergency resettlements.

Again this is an area where the Minister could be of great help by increasing the

quota of resettlements so that human rights defnders who had to flee their country

would not have the further difficulty of trying to find a country that would take them.

In speaking about the possibilities for the Minister, I really have to

acknowledge the absolute co-operation over the granting of visas and in particular

Marie Glynn in the visa office who sorted everything out immediately. They along

with John Biggar Tim Harrington and Caroline Phelan in the Human Rights Unit

were always available to assist - though I’m sure they gritted their teeth everytime

they heard it was Front Line on the phone and no doubt will in future! We also were

very fortunate to have Jon Benjamin and Giles Cutler in the UK Foreign and

Commonwealth office who over the last week have been very active in pursuing

transit visa for us. This is the kind of practical co-operation by governments and govt

departments that could actually mean at its most extreme, the difference between life

and death for a human rights defender.

Front Line is just 3 years old . We are eager and ready to learn as much as

we can. We are open to any suggestions or ideas you might have over the next

few days and beyond. We are there to assist you if you are in trouble but we

must stay focussed on trying to support and protect you rather than get

involved in your human rights work or the development of your organisation.

Our 5 year plan builds on the recommendations of the inaugural Dublin Platform and is organised under five key objectives

To develop an effective and authoritative research base on the situation of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) around the world in order to expose attacks on them and promote understanding of their work and the challenges they face;

To campaign and lobby for the protection of HRDs and against the impunity enjoyed by those who attack them;

To provide practical assistance to improve the security of HRDs at risk including through assistance with relocation where appropriate;

To support opportunities for training, capacity building and exchange of experiences and information between HRDs;

To develop the operational and organizational capacity of Front Line;

On Monday by which time everything was falling apart, I opened my email to

discover an intercepted virus which read marylawlor to madman@earth.com

It caught the moment in the office perfectly as pandemonium reigned but it also made me

reflect later on the way you painstakingly and relentlessly fight injustice with madness

and a little bit of hope.

Years ago I met an elderly man who worked all his life to defend human rights. He

spoke passionately with eyes of burning intensity about the destruction of the

rainforest. He half rose out of his chair as he spoke and at the end , this elderly man

sank back, spent, into his chair saying “Forgive me for talking so – it is the spirit taking over”

And so it is with you – your spirit has taken over and you are joined to each other and

to us through this spirit. I find it amazing and even shocking to be in the same room

with so many extraordinary people from so many different countries and cultures who

have faced so much.

Many of you are under surveillance, many of you have spurious law suits against

you, many of you have been defamed in the press, many of you have been tortured ,

Many of you have been imprisoned. I am stunned by your bravery and

determination - your willingness at great personal cost, to matter of factly continue

this perilous struggle for what is right.

I pledge that all of us in Front Line will continue to try to be there for you. We want to

try to protect you and help when the stress of living and working as witnesses to the

pain of so many becomes overwhelming – when you weep no longer with your eyes

but with your soul. For us in Front Line, it is such a priviledge to be asociated with

you – we enter your lives and for a while they become our lives.

During the summer one of our interns went to Greenland to climb mountains. He

brought with him a tiny Front Line Flag made out of a bit of bamboo stick and a

compliment slip. When he climbed to the top of the mountain he stuck it in. And

when I heard he had succeeded, I thought to myself, that’s what I’d like Front Line

to be all about , trying to climb mountains in order to assist those golden people who

spread the light of the sun into the darkest corner. We in Front Line salute your endless

courage and what Raji Sourani calls “the strategy of optimism”

Thank you very much. You are all so welcome.