On International Human Rights Defenders Day, we celebrate and thank defenders for their dedication to promoting and protecting the rights many of us take for granted.
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Their names are Betty, Juan, Rose, Doaa, Victoria, Maria, Adaobi. They are lawyers, journalists, environmentalists, community leaders, bloggers. They come from different countries. What do they have in common? Click on the video below!
Yes, these brave people are the drivers of social progress and the heroes of our times. On International Human Rights Defenders Day, we celebrate and thank them for their dedication to promoting and protecting the rights many of us take for granted.
There is one more thing these committed individuals have in common: all of them benefited from ISHR’s support, advocacy and training programmes. With over 30 years of expertise and dedication, ISHR was recognised by a recent independent evaluation as “a sophisticated and influential human rights actor (…) that serves as a bridge between human rights defenders operating at the grassroot or national level and policy makers and others operating at the international level.”
Our contribution is only possible with the support of people like you, who care about achieving real human rights change on the ground. Thanks to your support, and drawing on some of the skills and networks they were able to develop as participants in ISHR’s strategic advocacy and capacity building activities, in 2017 our alumni contributed to:
And with cross-regional networks strengthening solidarity and enhancing impact, participants from our 2017 Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme from Cambodia, Ecuador, Peru and Russia collaborated to take action to promote corporate respect for human rights and secure accountability for business-related violations.
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Thank you for supporting ISHR and, through us, the vital work of Betty, Juan, Rose, Doaa, Victoria, Maria, Adaobi, and the many others who face threats, restrictions and even risk their lives to defend the rights of others.
Local authorities have accepted a global civil society petition to place a permanent tribute to Chinese human rights defender Cao Shunli, a victim of deadly State reprisals by China, in a prominent location at the heart of Geneva’s international quarter.
A newly-released confidential letter by a UN Special Rapporteur documents the disbarment of human rights lawyers in China and the tightening ideological control over lawyers and law firms. The UN expert denounces disappearances, closed-door trials, harassment of relatives, travel bans, and other abuses targeting human rights lawyers.
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, ISHR delivered to both Geneva’s Administrative Council and its legislative counterpart, the Municipal Council, physical copies of the more than 1000 signatures collected in support of a memorial honouring Chinese human rights defender Cao Shunli.
