On a panel held at Columbia Law School and co-sponsored by ISHR among others, 2023-24 Advocate Ana Maria Belique of Reconoci.do, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor and an advocate from Côte d'Ivoire discussed efforts to forge a protective legal framework for human rights activism in light of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Ana Maria shared with the audience the challenges that she and her colleagues face from the authorities in the Dominican Republic when they peacefully protest the treatment of Dominicans of Haitian descent by the Government. When asked by a student what they could do to support her, she encouraged students to raise awareness of the situation through research, social media, and press releases.
