The voices of human rights defenders affected by the Pegasus spyware must be heard

A group of civil society organisations and human rights defenders urges the established European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware to ensure that the systematic targetting of human rights defenders with these technologies is fully examined by the Committee, and that the voices of human rights defenders affected are heard.

A series of investigations by media organisations and civil society have established the wide ranging and significant impact of the use of Pegasus and other surveillance technologies to spy on human rights defenders around the world. Notably, the Pegasus Project coordinated by Forbidden Stories, and with the technical support of Amnesty International, exposed the massive scale and breadth of targeting of civil society actors around the world. The prevalence of these technologies has led many human rights defenders to become fearful that they may be unknowingly targetted, and some have decided to halt or change the nature of their human rights work.

Women human rights defenders have described their social isolation following their targetting with Pegasus spyware. Friends and families also distance themselves in fear of also being harmed or surveilled. Their homes and private spaces becoming no longer private and no longer safe.

Although many reports outline the devastating impact of these patterns of surveillance nothing can replace the testimony of those directly affected. To fully understand the impact of Pegasus and equivalent spyware, it will be important that the committee speak directly with human rights defenders, from the EU as well as third countries. With this in mind, we are open to supporting this committee to center the voices of civil society actors targeted with Pegasus around the world.