The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has unveiled a much-needed initiative to help combat the growing problem of governments preventing human rights defenders from engaging with the UN or punishing and even imprisoning them when they do so.

Assistant Secretary General, Andrew Gilmour, will be given a special mandate to receive, consider and respond to allegations of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders and other civil society actors engaging with the UN.

In announcing the appointment during what is likely to be his last visit to Geneva as Secretary-General, Mr. Ki-moon said he was deeply alarmed about the growing number of reprisals and hoped the initiative will help put a stop to all intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the United Nations on human rights, the International Service for Human rights (ISHR) noted.

‘These courageous individuals are often our only eyes and ears in extremely tough environments – and we owe them our best possible support,’ said Mr. Ki-moon.

ISHR and other organizations have been advocating for years for the UN to do more to address the issue of reprisals against those who cooperate with the UN.  The high-level appointment is part of the Secretary-General’s recent pledge to up the ante throughout the UN when it comes to responding to non-cooperation with the UN.

A recent report by the UN Secretary General reportedly shows that reprisals take many forms, including travel bans, the issuance of arrest warrants on terrorism charges, detention and torture, surveillance, death threats, attempts to frame activists for criminal acts, defamation, and intimidation.

In several cases defenders are tarnished as ‘terrorists’ or ‘traitors’, contributing to perceptions that engagement with the UN is an act of betrayal. In some cases reprisals have led to individuals fleeing their country, in others, to death.

Mr. Gilmour has been designated to lead the UN's efforts to put a stop to all intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the United Nations on human rights.

ISHR Board member and Co-Director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights, Maryam Alkhawaja, said a lack of investigation or accountability for reprisals licenses further and worsening acts of reprisal.

‘It is imperative that the UN acts early and acts effectively in response to reprisals against defenders, ensuring that people who have already put themselves, and at times their families, at risk to cooperate with the UN can continue to do so. Reporting to the UN should never come at the price of personal freedoms,’ said Ms. Alkhawaja.

Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists said the appointment of a high-level official with a commitment to combating reprisals will increase the political risk and cost of perpetrating reprisals.

‘I know from first-hand experience that when senior officials such as UN Special Rapporteurs speak out against the harassment of a defender, a country will think twice about continuing such harassment.’

Earlier this year, a group of Special Rapporteurs spoke out against the harassment of Osman after he submitted a complaint about violations of freedom of association in Somalia to the ILO, according to ISHR.