So far, it has almost agreed on the text of a declaration. Yet several of the most critical rights for human rights defenders remain unresolved. It seemed that the Declaration would be completed in 1992, but a few governments obstructed its completion by proposing measures that would restrict the rights of human rights defenders rather than protect them. In countries where national laws and regulations do not protect rights to free speech, association, movement, etc., such an agreement in a UN text would be very dangerous. In many countries, national laws fall short of international standards.
Language affirming that international law is the framework is essential.
At issue is whether the Declaration should spell this out specifically or not. For many NGOs, this is a critical issue. To do a professional job, NGOs need the freedom to organize and fund their activities. For certain governments, this is one of the most controversial issues and it will be difficult for it to emerge as part of the final draft. Many delegates to the Working Group supported this because opposing countries were inserting ever-increasing and redundant restrictions into the text.