UN expert: Human rights defenders attacked and criminalized

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. expert says human rights defenders are being attacked and criminalized and more than 1,000 were killed between 2015 and 2017.
Michel Forst is the U.N. special investigator on human rights defenders and his report to the General Assembly’s human rights committee Tuesday says their situation “is deteriorating all over the world.”
He says that beyond the violence, “it is ultimately our rights, our democracies that are in great danger.&rdquo