A conversation between Giuseppe Filippi and the Secretary General of the Confederation of Humanitarian Nations – Harry T.

Giuseppe Filippi:
Secretary, in recent years the figure of the Human Rights Defender has become increasingly central. What concrete value does it have today?

Secretary General:
It has an operational value. A trained HRD does not merely invoke ethical principles but understands positive law and international law. This allows human rights to be translated into actions that institutions themselves can understand and manage.

Giuseppe Filippi:
So we are not talking about simple activism?

Secretary General:
No. An effective HRD is not a confrontational figure. It is someone who engages in dialogue with institutions, understands the rules, respects limits, and knows how to operate within existing systems without renouncing their role in protecting rights.

Giuseppe Filippi:
How do law enforcement agencies perceive this type of interlocutor?

Secretary General:
As a qualified interlocutor. Not as an alternative authority, but as a prepared and aware subject, with whom every act must be correct and sustainable over time. This leads to a more prudent and orderly approach.

Giuseppe Filippi:
HRDs are also protected by a United Nations resolution. Does this make a difference?

Secretary General:
Yes. The 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders states that States must ensure HRDs can operate and must protect them from illegitimate obstacles or retaliation. It is not a privilege or an immunity, but an international standard that States have accepted.

Giuseppe Filippi:
Does this protection have concrete effects?

Secretary General:
It does, in institutional behavior. When an HRD is recognizable, trained, and embedded within a representative structure, such as the Confederation of Humanitarian Nations or similar bodies, authorities know they are interacting with a subject operating under a UN framework. This encourages greater attention, procedural correctness, and dialogue.

Giuseppe Filippi:
So are States obliged to protect HRDs?

Secretary General:
They are obliged not to obstruct them unlawfully and to protect them when they operate in compliance with the law. An HRD is not above the law, but is a recognized part of the human rights protection system.

Giuseppe Filippi:
You have been Secretary General since 2020. Has this approach influenced the growth of your organization?

Secretary General:
Yes. From the outset, I structured our work around method, training, and institutional dialogue. This allowed the Confederation to grow, build credibility, and open spaces for cooperation that would otherwise have remained closed.

Giuseppe Filippi:
If you had to summarize the role of an HRD in one sentence?

Secretary General:
An HRD does not impose. It makes things possible: dialogue, protection, and respect for the rules, even in the most complex contexts.