Abstract

Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) are subjected to serious human rights violations through legal and extra-legal actions. More worryingly, the abuses against them remain unpunished, perpetuating the cycle of violence against them. There is room for doubt that international human rights law has failed to provide efficient protection to HRDs, so this article considers the international refugee regime as an alternative to the protection of HRDs. In this sense, it first discusses the intersection between the term ‘refugee’ and ‘HRD’ in order to establish that HRDs fall under the protection of the Refugee Convention. The article considers the most-well trodden flaws in the refugee regime which, in conjunction with the reluctance of HRDs to use the refugee status, renders this alternative unsuitable for defenders. This article employs not only doctrinal research, but also draws upon interviews with HRDs