NATIONAL ACTION 5: Monitor violations against Human Rights Defenders - and with the guidance of the APF - so that metrics allow for an eventual regional comparison through the planned regional database APF will implement in the future.112 Data collected could constitute and highlight:113 Causes of attacks against HRDs:114 Structural causes: deeply-rooted variables that evolve over time that can lead to violations.115 This includes: • Political environment: political will, transparency, respect for the rule of law, levels of corruption and impunity, efficiency. High levels of criminal and gun violence, or deprivation of indigenous peoples’ land, territories and resources. • Legal framework: recognition of HRDs in law, specific prohibition of violations to their rights, available protection mechanisms. • Institutional environment: functioning of legal institutions, independence and impartiality of judiciary; role, functioning and training of State forces, level of accountability and transparency of authorities, existence and ability to operate independent of other actors. • Societal and cultural environment: attitudes towards HRDs, discrimination, stereotypes, stigmatisation, demographic changes, economic factors. Proximate causes: circumstantial variables that gradually cause violations. This includes events attracting international attention (elections, sports) where HRDs are silenced. Conflict situations. Trigger causes: events that lead directly to a violation.116 For example, when a HRD denounces violations or carries out an activity (e.g. public demonstration), related to violations Nature of the violations: General: when they represent a broad potential of harm for any or all HRDs (e.g. adoption of restrictive legislation), they are part of a structural issue (e.g. high incidence of violations and/or impunity) or when they are part of a systemic pattern (e.g. social animosity against HRDs). Specific: On the other hand, affectations will be of a specific nature when it can be determined that actual harm was caused to individual defenders (e.g. an attack or a criminalisation process). It should be considered that harm was caused when any of the rights of HRDs outlined in the Model Law were violated.117 112 RAP page 22 113 https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2021/106.asp (pp.15, 27 of the guide) https://www.dpe.gob.ec/rc2018/10.%20Ejecucion_programatica/7%20Prevenir%20vulneraciones%20DDHH%20 a%20defensores%20y%20defensoras/Protocolo.pdf p.12, 13 114 https://www.oas.org/es/sap/pubs/GuiaAlerta_s.pdf pp.40, 41 115 https://ganhri.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Torture_Prevention_Guide.pdf page. 3; https://undocs.org/en/A/ HRC/46/35 par.30 116 https://undocs.org/A/HRC/13/22 par.52-61 117 Model Law, page ii 39