The African Human Rights Defenders Project is designed to strengthen the work of human rights defenders in Africa by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and by enhancing their capacity for effectiveness in defending human rights. It focuses on West Africa, East Africa and the Horn. The current report covers the first, exploratory stage of the project. This stage of the project was carried out through field trips in March and April 2004 to the two regions. They involved extensive consultations with a wide range of human-rights defenders as well as several public officials. It was conducted under the auspices of the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University in partnership with Amnesty International and with the support of International Development Research Centre and Inter Pares.
Call for Expression of Interest – human rights defenders mentorship program
After 20 years of DefendDefenders, this is a moment not only for reflection but for action. As we honour two decades of resilience, solidarity, and advocacy, we look ahead with purpose: What can human rights defenders across generations learn from one another? To celebrate our 20th anniversary, DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders are proud to launch The Roots of Resistance, a Mentorship Program for Young African Human Rights Defenders. This special initiative is designed to empower and connect emerging human rights defenders (HRDs) aged 18–30 through intergenerational mentorship, skills-building, and movement solidarity.