About the project
In light of extreme threats faced by human rights defenders (HRDs) worldwide, leveraging human rights diplomacy to support and protect HRDs in third countries is a policy priority for many states, including Norway. Norway has taken a championing role internationally by leading norm-entrepreneurship related to resolutions in the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly, reaffirming international commitments to the protection of HRDs and highlighting specific groups of defenders and themes needing more attention. It has further integrated this approach as a priority in the parliamentary-approved white paper, "Opportunities for All: Human Rights in Norway’s Foreign Policy and Development Cooperation" (Meld. St. 10 2014-15). Since 2005, Norway has also implemented operational guidelines to help diplomats, embassies, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to “systematise” their work, with the latest updates in August 2023.
This thesis employs an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach to investigate how Norwegian diplomats and embassies in third countries use diplomacy, through their work and practices, to support and protect human rights defenders in specific contexts. Furthermore, it explores how these efforts are perceived in terms of meeting the needs of HRDs.
Objective
A key aim of this research is to complement emerging scholarship on various protection practices and mechanisms for human rights defenders, with an emphasis on third States´ efforts making use of diplomacy as a tool for protection. It will further bring a novel contribution in the Norwegian context to how Norway works on diplomacy towards human rights defenders that can provide input to both policy makers and practitioners.
Additionally, a goal of this research is to make a productive contribution to future policy outcomes. By identifying factors that enable or impede the protection practices of Norwegian diplomats, this study further aims to provide recommendations for further policy improvements and work when it comes to support and protection of human rights defenders by diplomats. The research results will be shared within Norwegian political institutional structures and will also be relevant for other states with similar policies in addition to specialised organisations and actors including the human rights defender’s community.
About the researcher
Sandra Petersen is a Doctoral research fellow at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), University of Oslo. With over two decades of experience, she has closely collaborated with local human rights defenders, networks, and organizations in conflict zones and high-risk areas. Her expertise encompasses political advocacy, collaboration with international protection actors, and management of funding mechanisms for local human rights defenders and organizations, including initiatives led by women and people directly affected by human rights abuse. Petersen also possesses over 14 years of organizational leadership experience from various Norwegian organizations and as a board member in Norwegian and international networks and organizations. She is currently employed as a special advisor by the Norwegian Human Rights Fund. Her PhD research project is externally funded by the Norwegian Research Council under the Public Sector PhD scheme.
