Imagine building your life around a cause only to be forced to abandon it overnight and run for your safety. In March 2009, this became the situation for Amir Suleiman, a long-serving Sudanese human rights lawyer, and several of his colleagues. The day that the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the arrest warrant against former president Bashir is a day Amir will never forget.

“We established the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED) in 2002, and the organisation flourished into the leading and most influential human rights organisation in the country. Among the many successful projects we carried out, were teaching communities about human rights and running campaigns to bring awareness on the Sudanese constitution in 2005, we were also monitoring and documenting human rights abuses and contributing to the case against former president Omar Al Bashir. Our growing visibility, because of our involvement in that case, came at a huge cost. Immediately after the ICC issued the arrest warrant for Bashir, the Sudanese government shut down our organisation, froze our bank account and they started looking for us. So, we fled the country, fearing for our lives.”

With the assistance of international NGOs like FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) and the IRI (International Republican Institute), the troubled group of human rights defenders (HRDs) from the KCHRED were relocated to different countries, with Amir first making his way to Egypt.

“Around April 2009, we felt stuck. We had no idea where to go and where we could set ourselves up again to resume our work. We were advised to reach out to the Executive Director of DefendDefenders, Mr. Hassan Shire. Within a month, Hassan welcomed my five colleagues and I to Kampala. DefendDefenders provided us with accommodation and financial support for our upkeep. Two of us had brought families, who were also looked after and provided for. We had health insurance, we were able to enroll for English courses at Makerere University, and our expenses for travel and visa processing were also covered.”

“By August that year, we felt we could not continue receiving support. We wanted to get back to work, helping the human rights situation in Sudan. So, we discussed our wish to establish a new organisation with DefendDefenders. We came up with the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS). With support from DefendDefenders, we rented our first office and got all the equipment we needed. It was a great feeling that we had our own office and could continue working again to support the human rights victims and survivors in Sudan. We have since shifted from our first office, but all the furniture and office equipment we are using today were provided by DefendDefenders. Since May 2009, to date, we work very closely with DefendDefenders.”

“DefendDefenders helped us a lot financially. They helped us to raise our capacity. When we started ACJPS, they raised our awareness about security issues. We received training, which continues to date. For example, we had digital security training, where we learnt to secure our communication more effectively. In collaboration with DefendDefenders, we bring a lot of Sudanese HRDs to Kampala to be trained on different themes and areas of human rights. We also get support for some activists and ourselves to do advocacy to participate at human rights mechanisms, like the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”

At the end of April 2025, Amir was part of a delegation that traveled with DefendDefenders to Banjul, The Gambia, to attend the 83rd Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), and the preceding NGO Forum. This platform has, over the years, been a space where the Sudanese activists have built connections with human rights organisations across the continent, while bringing their human rights concerns before the Commission. Amir participated in a panel during the African Commission public session and was also included on the panel of speakers during a side-event hosted by DefendDefenders, alongside the Country Rapporteur for Sudan, Honourable Commissioner Hatem Essaiem and the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrant in Africa, Commissioner Selma Sassi-Safer. This gave Amir and other Sudanese HRDs the opportunity to highlight the ongoing human rights crisis in Sudan and advocate for more support and attention from the African and global community to their plight.

“DefendDefenders sponsored my trip to Banjul.  They support some of our activities in Geneva as well.” Referring to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), where he and other Sudanese HRDs have also attended sessions over the years, supported by DefendDefenders.

“So, it is a successful partnership. And what I like about DefendDefenders is their way of working with others, they are friendly. You never feel that they are ‘just doing their job’. There is this humanity, not just with a few that I can pick out, but with all the staff. Whenever we reach out to them, whenever they have the resources, they never stop supporting us. I think many people appreciate that. DefendDefenders helps them to start a new life, they can stand on their legs again and continue working in the field of human rights.