Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, expressed grave concern on Tuesday regarding the treatment of human rights defenders, as more than 1,000 have been killed between 2015 and 2017.

In the latest report on the situation of human rights defenders issued earlier this year, Forst praised the work that has been done but fears for the safety of human rights defenders.

The Declaration has become a milestone in the human rights project and resources have been provided for the promotion and protection of human rights defenders. However, I am more concerned than ever. … We are facing an alarming panorama for human rights defenders. Their situation is deteriorating all over the world despite States’ obligations to ensure the protection of human rights defenders.

2018 marks the twentieth anniversary of the UN mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. In a speech made to the UN General Assembly, Forst explained how the program’s very existence is in jeopardy but the anniversary presents an “opportunity not only to review the situation of human rights defenders but also to set out a vision for the human rights movement for the coming years.”

In honor of the anniversary, a number of events are scheduled in the upcoming months intended to draw attention to the issue of human rights defenders. From October 29-31, the second Human Rights Defenders World Summit will take place in Paris. A “high-level plenary meeting” in New York will take place in mid-December tasked with addressing good practices and new opportunities in the Declaration’s implementation.